Going West: True Crime - The Butcher Baker of Alaska / Part 1 // 463

Episode Date: December 24, 2024

Between 1971 and 1983, an unknown perpetrator committed dozens of kidnappings, rapes, and murders, wreaking havoc on the state of Alaska. The assailant was elusive, striking against area women during the freezer winter temperatures, and the extended daylight hours of Alaska’s Midnight Sun alike. But eventually, they uncovered the monster behind it all, who posed as a respected and unassuming father and bakery owner in Anchorage. This is the story of Alaska’s most infamous serial killer, a man named Robert Hansen, now known as The Butcher Baker. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is going on true crime fans? I'm your host T and I'm your host Daphne and you're listening to going west Hello everybody. Thank you so much for tuning in today. This one was recommended by Kate and Hannah, so thank you both so much. This is such a complex and horrible story about a seemingly meek man doing unacceptable things to women in his Alaska community, many of which take place over Christmas and the freezing winter months of Alaska.

So Keith and I decided, since there is way too much information for just one episode to do a special two parter this week and make this the only case that we're discussing, discussing during the holidays. Yeah. I mean we think that this is going to be the perfect case for it and it just gets crazier and crazier as it goes on. So you guys definitely do not want to miss both parts. Yeah. Happy holidays.

If you can't be with your family, we will be right here with you for a chilling, extended case this week. Yeah, if you're listening right away, Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah, happy Kwanzaa or just happy whatever day it is. And without further ado, this is episode 463 of Going West. So let's get into it. This episode is brought to you by HelloFresh. Be honest, between meetings, workout classes, and the kids' clubs, who's got time to cook?

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strips and drizzled with nacho cheese sauce. Get your claws on it. For a limited time only, I participate in McDonald's restaurants in Ontario. Between 1971 and 1983, an unknown perpetrator committed dozens of kidnappings, rapes, and murders, wrecking havoc on the state of Alaska. The assailant was elusive, striking against area women during the freezing winter temperatures and the extended daylight hours of Alaska's midnight sun alike. But eventually, the police uncovered the monster behind it all,

who posed as a respected and unassuming father and bakery owner in Anchorage. This is the story of Alaska's most infamous serial killer, a man named Robert Hanson, now known as the Butcher Baker. Robert Hanson was born on February 15, 1939 to Edna and Christian Hanson in Estherville, Iowa. But after living there and a brief stint in Richmond, California, Robert, his parents, and his little sister Alice settled into Pocahontas, which is a small town situated in northwest Iowa. The family was well known and respected in Pocahontas because Robert's father Christian,

who's actually from Denmark, ran a beloved bakery on Main Street there, called, of course, the Pocahontas Home Bakery, where locals loved popping in for traditional Danish pastries. The bakery opened in October of 1949 when Robert was 10 and his little sister Alice was 2. And the family of four actually lived in an apartment right above the shop which is just so idyllic. But by Robert's own description he really struggled to fit in as a child both in California and Iowa, and his feelings of being an outcast only intensified as a teenager. Robert struggled with a stutter for the entirety of his life,

and he was ridiculed for it by his classmates. He later recalled that he refused to answer questions in class, even if he had been called on for fear of being teased. Robert described his father Christian as harsh and domineering and that Christian had little pity for Robert's struggles. His dad was allegedly even so controlling that he forced Robert to write with his right hand despite being born left-handed. I don't know why that would be such a big deal. I mean those like people who write left and right-handed exist so... No I know I actually read that this was apparently done in like a bid to help him fit in

like him being left-handed would make students tease him. Like I don't know. You know what's kind of weird though is not to harp on this too much but back in the day I feel like it was not as acceptable to be left-handed for some odd reason. Things used to be so messed up, I don't know, but Robert was also, this is horrible, he was reportedly forced to wake up early, sometimes as early as 2 or 3 a.m., alongside his dad in order to help at the bakery before then heading out for a full day of school in the 1950s. And I do know that a lot of kids, you know, in those days worked younger, but that's so early for a kid that's already having so much trouble in school. Like these are just really long miserable days for him.

Yeah, and that's basically just bakery work, essentially. Yeah, I mean you gotta wake up that early to be a baker basically. But, you know, because he was always so tired, you know, on top of him not wanting to participate in class because of his stutter, his performance really suffered and he often fell asleep in class. Robert was also very quiet and unassuming, so on top of not talking much in class, he really didn't have many friends.

In addition to his stutter, he also suffered from acne, which left pockmark scars of which he was very embarrassed by for the rest of his life. He later said resentfully, quote, I looked like a freak and I sound like one. Now, like many violent males do, Robert blamed the rejection from girls in his adolescence for radicalizing him against them, and spent the rest of his life taking it out on other women. So basically, he was a bit of an incel. However, he was very active in extracurricular activities at Pocahontas High School, despite

not having much of a social life. He participated in the chorus and pep club, played football and basketball, and he also ran track. So it's kind of weird here because he's sort of an outcast, but he's also playing a lot of sports and stuff. Yeah, he participates in some ways and then doesn't in others. Exactly. Well, after graduating from high school, he spent a year in the US Army Reserve, and then served as an assistant drill instructor at the police academy when he returned to Pocahontas.

So frustrated with the perception of him by women, he paid a sex worker to sleep with him for the very first time while serving in the Army Reserve. And his arrival back in Pocahontas brought with it his first major brush with the law. In an act of retaliation, he burned down the barn that contained his old school's school buses, which he felt was vindication for the treatment that he received in his school age years. He even stayed to watch the barn burn, just completely proud of what he had done. Thankfully, nobody was killed, but a fireman was injured in this blaze. The mayor of Pocahontas later described Robert by saying, quote, he was an aberration, the bad seed, so to speak. And by the way, during the time that Robert lived here and was growing up, the population was

always around about 2,000 people. And remember, his family was well known in this town for the bakery. So many people, including the mayor, knew about Robert. When Robert was caught for burning down the school buses, his family was completely mortified and of course, his prideful father Christian was especially furious about this. In October of 1961, 22-year-old Robert was handed a three-year sentence, of which he served about 20 months, until he was released in May of 1963. While Robert was living in a reformatory serving his sentence, he was forced to see a psychiatrist. And this doctor actually assessed that he had a, quote, infantile personality and a social disease.

So now everybody in town was just basically turning against Robert. And his parents were so embarrassed at their reputation in their small town that they sold the bakery and moved a six hour drive north to Walker, Minnesota purchasing and operating a lakeside resort. So from one family business to the next. Now for all of Robert's talk of rejection and embarrassment at the hands of women and just general shame about his looks, he was married at just 21 to a woman from his hometown named Phoebe Padgett. So this was actually around the time of the bus burnings because they were wed on April

1st, 1961, which was shortly after that arson incident. Robert swore to Phoebe, her family, and his own that he was innocent and that the friend that he had been with that night had been letting him take the fall. With reservations about whether or not he was telling the truth, Phoebe married him anyway. But when he was found guilty, she realized that she could no longer trust him So the two divorced less than a year after they got married and you can imagine that this divorce made him so much angrier at women and the world even though it was obviously all his doing like to be fair being bullied for a stutter or for

Having acne scars or whatever is completely unacceptable. Like, nobody should be subjected to that. But if he had just taken the high road, like, as if burning the school buses was going to actually do anything good for you, you know, like, the school buses didn't do this to you. So, I mean, I know it was more of a principal thing, but if he had just taken the high road and been with Phoebe, here's a woman who's willing to marry you, you could live a happy life with her and you're you're choosing to let your childhood destroy you and let it turn you into a monster. Yeah and that's exactly what he did basically throughout his life and it's like yeah

he shouldn't have been bullied for sure But now he's taking out this revenge on the school, on women, on other people, and it's just gonna get so much worse. Yes, so much worse. Well, to Phoebe's best friend Rosemary, the arson conviction was gravely serious for those in Robert's circle, especially Phoebe, who didn't think her new husband had been capable of such an act. Rosemary remembered, quote, "'I did understand that he didn't think

"'the way the rest of us did.'" After his release from prison for the arson, divorced and alone at the age of 24, Robert joined his parents at their resort in Minnesota, just helping them out until he figured out what he should do next. And it was there that he met Darla Hendrickson. Surprisingly, they were actually

from the same small town in Iowa and had attended the same school and church, but Robert was four years older, so their paths had never crossed before. But it is weird, because like you said, this is a six hour drive north, so it's not like the neighboring town. So it's very weird that they happened to cross paths,

but they did. Almost would seem like some sort of strange fate. Yeah, and you know, they were totally smitten with each other upon meeting. They bonded over both having felt like outcasts during their upbringing. So this seemed like a pretty good match. Like they could really understand each other

because taller than most at her age, Darla was always that kind of you know unassuming wallflower at the school dances and shyly remembered feeling overlooked by teenage boys I mean were you were you bullied in school? Uh probably like middle school I don't I was kind of an emo kid in high school so I didn't really talk to a lot of people. But you weren't bullied? I wasn't no I wasn't bullied I, so I didn't really talk to a lot of people. I kind of- But you weren't bullied for it?

I wasn't, no, I wasn't bullied. I just didn't really like people. I wanted people to fucking leave me alone. Really? Yeah. I'm only asking because I was also way taller than the boys and the girls in my school. I mean, I'm 5'10 now.

I don't know how tall I was throughout my school career. Obviously, I was getting taller and taller, but I wasn't bullied for it. I just totally felt like an outcast for being taller. Like I felt like this tall freak person. I don't know why that's, I literally don't understand why that's a thing. I don't know either.

It's so weird. I mean, I was also bullied for just by one boy for my big ears. Cause I kind of have big ears that stick out and he literally called me Dumbo. Like what the fuck? What an asshole. Well, you're beautiful.

So fuck that guy I mean Thank you, so yeah I mean Darla was Excited to cross paths with Robert because she had a lot to offer in a relationship and she always knew that about herself She was smart and independent, but also wanted someone to take care of Robert proposed to her at the end of the summer But she wanted to finish school first so he headed to Chicago for a three-month pastry class at Wilton's Cake Decorating School while she completed her studies.

And they dated long distance for a short time as Darla continued her education at the University of Iowa and Robert visited as often as he could. But by the end of 1963, they were fed up with doing long distance and got married, despite Darla's wishes to finish her degree. She actually dropped out of school to move away with Robert, but later enrolled in the University of Minnesota, achieving her Bachelor of Science degree in Education in March of 1967. Well, together they bounced around throughout the Midwest for a few years where it's possible that Robert found his first victims, though he has never officially been connected to

any murders outside of Alaska. His biographer, Leland Hale, who later penned a book about Robert and his victims alongside one of the officers who worked on this case, acknowledged that it's entirely possible that Robert has earlier victims. We just don't know about them. Well, after leaving Chicago, Illinois and Walker, Minnesota, Robert and Darla lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Minot, North Dakota, and Rapid City, South Dakota. But eventually, Robert grew disillusioned with their quiet life and yearned for more adventure.

By his account, quote, Robert grew disillusioned with their quiet life and yearned for more adventure. By his account, quote, I used to like to hunt and fish, and I always read all of these stories about Alaska. I approached her, I said, Darla, I sure would like to go up to Alaska for a while. Despite Darla's no-nonsense practicality, she did agree to this, and the Hansons moved to Alaska in 1967, which was a dream for Robert, who loved to spend time outdoors but especially loved to hunt. They told their families that they were going to try it out for about six months to a year,

but they ended up spending the next two decades there, and it's where Robert's despicable killing spree began. He and Darla settled on the east side of Anchorage, Alaska in a neighborhood called Muldoon. Robert started out as a cake decorator at a Safeway grocery store, but eventually went into the family business and opened up Hanson's Bakery.

Heath, you used to work at the bakery at Safeway, didn't ya? I did, but I'm not a serial killer. Heath actually used to make donuts as a teen. I was, yeah, or I did, didn't ya? I did, but I'm not a serial killer. Heath actually used to make donuts as a teen. I was, yeah, or I did. I was a donut fryer, and I had to go in to make those donuts at midnight. So I'd work midnight to about 8.30 a.m. Crazy.

Which completely sucked ass, because I hated being there. Like, you're there overnight, you're so tired. And this was when I was like 18, so it's like all my friends were going out and having fun and it's like I had to go to work at midnight Yeah, well, like you said bakers work so early, but tell them how you started your shifts or your days after yeah So I would basically just go into work and I would grab a maple bar and an energy drink But it was so funny because I would be standing at the donut fryer and I would be like basically half asleep like my eyes were about to close and then like some grease or oil from the fryer

Would fly out onto my arm and that was like my wake-up call It would burn the shit out of me as I'm turning over the donuts. That's grim It was honestly such a sucky job. We both have bakery or like bakery experience backgrounds I used to work at a bakery as a teenager too. So yeah funny You're just getting a couple stories along the way because they do connect to this story a little bit Yeah, sorry But anyway, so so he worked at Safeway as a cake decorator then Robert opened up Hanson's bakery, right? And by most accounts he was quiet and friendly to the locals and patrons who

would come in for delicious baked goods. And because he was known to be shy, few families that the Hansens were acquainted with recalled Darla asking her girlfriend's husbands to take Robert under their wings, as he was a notorious loner who made little effort to socialize. Darla, however, kept busy. She was very involved in her church and took a job teaching full time. And she was especially skilled at working with children who were dyslexic and struggled with their reading and writing comprehension skills.

And she absolutely loved her job. I mean, the patience and grace that she showed to her students is still remembered fondly to this day. Darla and Robert had two children together, a daughter named Kristy and a son named Johnny, who reportedly worshipped their father. In Alaska, Robert began hunting competitively, frequently winning competitions and taking home trophies. So, as you can imagine, the carcasses of his hunting sprees

adorned the walls of the family's home. And this is, you know, pretty typical for people who live in more rural areas, and especially in Alaska, to have trophies hanging on their walls. Now, he got his children interested in hunting as well, and little Chrissy even began to compete, which was a major point of pride for Robert. So by all accounts, Robert's got a great life. He's doing what he loves baking, and was able to open his own place, which is huge. You know, he's exploring his hobby hunting.

He has an incredible wife and two kids who adore him. And now even his kids are interested in things that he's interested in. And also, he even trained for and obtained his pilot's license and eventually purchased a series of planes, finally settling on a Piper PA-18 Super Club. And he boasted that he was able to afford the plane because a few of his hunting championship trophies were stolen from where they hung on the wall in his den downstairs. And from that, from his homeowner's insurance claim, he received a nice sum of $13,000. In Alaska in the 1970s,

the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and the allure of oil money brought with it a slew of new people. Like kind of like a gold rush for the new age. People flocked to Anchorage Men wanting to work in the trade and women who worked to entertain them So the more seedy side of Anchorage known for drug use drug selling strip clubs and sex work Flourished during this period but sadly these clubs often preyed on young women who had escaped abusive homes

Or were runaways with nowhere else to go. Some clubs would even offer them room and board, which of course led to them feeling even more trapped by their circumstances. Though they didn't know it at the time, Robert Hanson was a frequent patron, haunting these establishments, scouting for his next victim. He enjoyed hunting women just as much as hunting animals. Despite frequently changing his name and appearance,

the women who worked in the industry began to fear something nefarious was afoot when the girls and women began to disappear from the community one by one over the course of the next decade. The women came to know, fear, and avoid Robert Hanson, and Police Sergeant Glenn Flouthy even remembered a group of sex workers and their johns trashing his car at one point out of retaliation. Like, that's how disliked he was amongst them.

And that's just wild to me that everybody knew who this guy was, they knew that he was a piece of shit, but they couldn't do anything about it at the time, and nobody was really looking at Robert Hanson seriously. Well, and I know you guys are probably wondering, well, what did he do? Why did they hate him? We're going to dive into all of that. Robert later recalled driving the streets of the city just to ogle the sex worker saying,

you know, it excited me like I'd never been excited before in my life. It gave me this sexual big blow up charge. And he added that it helped his guilt that he didn't see them as women, but rather as disposable objects for his pleasure and amusement, admitting quote, prostitutes are women I'm putting down as lower than myself.

I could do things with them that I couldn't do with a good woman. That makes me ill. Yeah, what a disgusting human being to even say something like this. Well obviously we know that he is very insecure, he always has been insecure, but the fact that he is acting like just because a woman is a sex worker that she is beneath him and because he can pay them he can do whatever he wants to them and demean them and make them his puppets it's so gross. Yeah but it's like you are not above any of these women.

Or anybody else. Or anyone else. Well, on November 22nd, 1971, just days before Thanksgiving, 32-year-old Robert committed his first known violent infraction against a woman, though it may have just been the first time that he got caught. Susan Hepburn worked as the secretary for a real estate agent. When she and Robert crossed paths in public, he mistakenly presumed that she smiled at him flirtatiously. God forbid a woman is friendly. Yeah, right? It's like, he's giving the vibe that he thinks that the strippers like him.

You know what I mean? Yeah, oh yeah. True. Like, like, they just want your, they just want your money. Yeah, you're just another man. You're just another man, right. Well anyway, transfixed by her beauty, he followed her home in the freezing cold and attempted to approach her there. When she was rightfully frightened and rejected his advances, he grew angry and pulled a gun on her, attempting to kidnap her. Now, thankfully her roommates were home at this time, and created enough commotion to

stop the crime from happening. And then, Robert fled, but not before the woman took note of his vehicle. So he was arrested just a half hour later. And ever the victim, Robert of course denied everything, but was booked and held because they assumed that he had intended to rape her. But the very next month, while he was out on bail, he struck again, potentially even two more times.

Patricia Roberts was a young sex worker that Robert had met at the Nevada Tavern in downtown Anchorage on December 19, 1971. He descended on her in the parking lot, threatening her with a gun, and telling her that he would kill her if she didn't comply. He then drove them about two hours south of Anchorage to Kenai Lake, where he rented them a motel room and once inside, Robert tied her up and raped her. While there he also threatened the lives of her young son and her parents.

Now miraculously the following day he returned her to Anchorage and let her go. When she reported the crime, Patricia immediately plucked his picture from a lineup, saying without hesitation, that's him. So Robert was arrested yet again. He called his run-in with Susan a misunderstanding, of course, and his kidnapping of Patricia an exaggeration, claiming that he had hired her for sex work but that they had disagreed on a price and that she was just seeking revenge. How often can you say a gift is truly unique?

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After Robert's arrest for the rape of Patricia, the Anchorage Police Department inexplicably struck him a deal. If he pled guilty to the charges brought about by Susan Hepburn, they would drop the charges brought about by Patricia. Insane. But just three days after Patricia was kidnapped and raped, another young woman in the area went missing. 18-year-old Beth Van Zanten was home watching a movie with her two brothers on the evening of December 22, 1971. But at about 8.30 p.m., she headed out into the below freezing temperatures to grab a

soda from their nearby grocery store by herself, and she never returned. Because she mentioned casually that she may have a late-night babysitting gig for a friend of their cousin, her brothers didn't report her missing when she didn't come home that night, just naturally assuming that she had been picked up on her way to or from the grocery store. And by the time she was reported missing on Christmas Eve, there was no sign of her along her snowy, ice-covered route. To this day, Beth has never been found and is believed to have been among

Robert's first victims in Alaska. Ahead of his hearing, Robert was ordered to undergo psychiatric evaluation. On February 28th, 1972, Dr. J. Ray Langdon submitted a report that read that he believed that Robert Hanson was suffering from dissociative identity disorder, which he believed would be difficult to treat.

Robert explained feeling like his attacks on these women had been nothing but a bad dream, and also suffered memory loss and periodic schizophrenic episodes. On March 24th, 1972, Robert was sentenced in the case of Susan's kidnapping and given five years in prison for assault with a deadly weapon. However, merely months later, Robert somehow swindled his next psychiatrist, Dr. Alan H. Parker, into believing that he had made sufficient strides in his recovery process, and Robert was moved into a halfway house.

He was released on parole after serving only a year and a half. One doctor recommended his constant monitoring and treatment and even evaluated, quote, I don't know what will happen if he doesn't have medical attention. But because Robert was shuffled between so many different doctors and managed to fly under the radar before and after his release, disappointingly, he evaded long-term psychiatric care. But of course, Robert was not gonna change because as soon as he was released, women began to vanish from the streets of Anchorage and its surrounding areas once again.

Two and a half hours south of Anchorage is the small community of Seward, and it was there that 17-year-old Megan Emrick walked out of her dorm at the Seward Skill Center, which is now the Alaska Technical Vocational Center, leaving all of her belongings behind only to disappear indefinitely. She was last seen on July 7, 1973, and was reported missing three days later by her roommate. And let's kind of paint this scene here because interestingly, Seward is a port city full of orca and humpback sightings, beautiful hiking trails, and nutrient-rich

waters perfect for fishing that is often described as the land of the midnight sun, or at least one of them in Alaska, because they experience nearly 24 hours of daylight during the summer months. Meaning, when Megan was last seen, the area was experiencing many hours of daylight a day, about 19 to 20 hours during July. But, you know, it's not far north enough, like Fairbanks for example, to experience the full midnight sun in the summer months. But anyway. Well, at the time that 17-year-old Megan vanished, Robert was on parole and his personal records show that he was actually in the area on the very weekend that she vanished.

He owned a boat which he used for fishing and scuba diving on the banks of beautiful Seward, and he apparently kept it docked in Seward. Megan was one of only a handful of Robert's assumed victims who was not employed as a sex worker. But still, she does fit the physical description of the women and girls that he went after, and he had the opportunity to prey on her while he was there. Later he would claim, quote, I never had anything, anything to do with any of the girls out of Seward. But two

of his subsequent victims were also from Seward, so can we really trust him? Because two years later, in 1975, Robert found himself in Seward for the Fourth of July holiday. Mary Thill was 22 years old when she was last seen near the docks where Robert kept his boat on July 5th, 1975. And just like Megan Emmerich, Mary was a student at the Seward Skill Center. But neither Megan nor Mary have ever been found. In 1976, Robert had his next major run-in with the law following a petty theft. While it may sound banal, the courts were fed up with giving him chances, and he was finally

being treated like an offender with the propensity to commit incrementally worse crimes, which it turns out he had already been doing. One November day in 1976, while his parents were visiting for the holidays, 37-year-old Robert strode into a Fred Meyer department store, plucked a chainsaw off the shelf, and walked out of the store with it, holding a fake receipt so that it appeared as though he had already purchased it. But he was caught and arrested immediately.

Robert explained later, quote, "'I looked at them and remembered about five weeks previous. "'My father and I had been cutting wood for our fireplace, and his remarking three or four times how much he would like to have one to use when he and my mother go camping along the coast. I told my father that he would be more than welcome to take mine, but he refused. I thought of this and all the presents my parents had given me through the years, and how wonderful it would be if I could give him a chainsaw for Christmas. I also thought of course about my wife and I had just bought this summer a new home and

put everything we have saved for more than nine years into. I guess many many thoughts went through my mind as I looked at the saws. I wanted almost more than anything to please my father and could just imagine the expression on his face on Christmas Day if I could give him that saw. Oh Heath, what a good guy he is. I mean this is like the least of his problems, this whole chainsaw thing. Yeah, but you know since he was arrested at his sentencing in April of 1990, sorry, 1977, his pre-sentence officer told the judge, quote, it is my opinion that Robert Hanson should be considered a danger

to society. The judge felt that Robert's mental health was a major contributing factor and ordered him to undergo psychotherapy alongside a five-year sentence. When he was asked if he wanted to address the judge, which he usually declined to do, Robert said, quote, Your Honor, there is no doubt I committed the crime, but I would like you to consider my wife and two small children. I am the sole supporter of my family.

I have a home. I own my home, but now I will lose it. Since seeing Dr. McMahonman, there has been no problem. I am now in the lithium program and am able to talk without stuttering. Your Honor, there will be no future problems. I have had enough problems. They have been hard on my family. I have been seeing Dr. Parker and talked to him regarding my problem. It was a sex-related problem, but now that's cleared up. For the first time, I can handle my problem now. Now I don't feel I have to take something out of a store.

I am ashamed of being here. I'm just asking for restrictions to help me keep things right." But the judge wasn't buying it from a repeat offender. I mean, this is all just manipulative babble. It is, yeah. And upheld his original sentence. So his parole would be at the discretion of the parole board. I mean, it's just so silly to me that he wants to act like a victim and go,

I'm such a good guy. Like, I've completely changed. I'm better now. I'm better now. No, you're not. You're a turd. And the fact that he is still being graced with the marriage of Darla at this point, when he is committing these crimes against women, and an officer is saying that he is a danger to society, is truly wild. Yeah, I mean, it's- it's's I wonder what was going on in that home though like between him and Darla if he treated her well or treated her respectfully like

Because you know he claimed that she was a good woman Right and all these other women were below him So it's like I wouldn't be surprised if that was kind of like what was going on and possibly she just didn't know How deep all of his problems actually went but it's like she knew about his arrest and the time that he had to spend in prison so yeah I mean you're not getting any red flags there yeah it's it's it's shocking that she is still with him and um I mean this was a different time we know he's a manipulative guy we know he likes to pour honey in the old ear. But these are multiple offenses.

It's just wild. Well, Dr. Alan H. Parker evaluated him once again and found his bouts of kleptomania to be the result of obsessive compulsive behavior. Robert later admitted, quote, and this is so fucking weird. He said, quote, I damn near ejaculated my pants "'if I could walk into a store "'and take something and get out the dang door with it

"'and not pay for it.'" Duh fuck. So weird, like that, what a quote. Well, he also continued to see Dr. Robert McManman, who diagnosed him with bipolar affective disorder. And Robert admitted that he fantasized about torturing girls who rejected him as a youth. What? He was intermittently prescribed Thorazine and Lithium, but he didn't regularly take

either of them. After serving only one year through good behavior and attending therapy, he once again swindled the parole board into believing that he was ready to rejoin society. Thus, he was released in September of 1978, and he was again placed on probation. I wonder how much of that had to do with the fact that he was married and had two kids as if he was like, I'm the man, I must support my family as my duty as a man. Yeah, yeah, that and the fact that he's such a meek man, right?

Yeah. You know, he's so unassuming as we said earlier, you know, nobody really believed that he was capable of doing any of these things. They just kind of thought, well, he screws up occasionally, but he's probably a good guy, which he was not. Well, Anchorage police detective Ron Rice later said to Sergeant Walter Gilmore, quote, You know, I told the DA at the time that we should go balls to the wall on the Patty Roberts thing, who as a reminder was the woman he kidnapped, raped and released. It was a strong case. She

was an excellent witness. And we put together a pretty good list of witnesses who had seen them. We had people all the way down the Kenai who had seen them. You'll remember that I went to my boss, telling him that we should go for it. I even went to you and ended up writing a report on the damn case, trying to get people to listen. The DA just gave me the cold shoulder. He was more interested in making deals with Hanson's attorney.

And I'll tell you one goddamn thing, Walt. We taught Hanson to kill. When we didn tell you one goddamn thing Walt, we taught Hanson to kill. When we didn't put him away for a long time, we taught him to kill. We not only taught him to kill, we taught him who to kill. Way back in 72, we told him it's alright to kill whores, cuz nobody gives a shit about whores. Thank you so much everybody for listening to part one of these episodes of Going West. Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. What a grim quote that we left off on at the very end. That was horrifying. But yeah, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. What a grim quote that we left off on at the very end. That was horrifying. But yeah, thank you guys so much for listening to this. We are gonna

have part two out for you guys this week on The Butcher Baker. Yeah, that was definitely a dark way to end it, sorry, but it felt like, you know, before we dive into all the other women that he attacked and murdered, felt like a good place to end it. Again, there is so much left, so please tune in for episode two or part two on the butcher Baker. Um, I think we should probably release that one early, probably on Thursday, which is the day after Christmas, the 26th, just so you guys don't have to wait too long. But then again,

we will not have a regular Friday episode because we put so much time into this case as much as we would have two separate episodes. So thank you for understanding. Hope you guys have a great holiday if you're listening to this right when it comes out and yeah, we'll see you on Thursday. All right, guys. So for everybody out there in the world, don't be a stranger. I'm just a little bit of a Little bit of a Little bit of a Little bit of a Little bit of a Little bit of a

Little bit of a Little bit of a Little bit of a Little bit of a Little bit of a Little bit of a Little bit of a Little bit of a