Butcher, Baker: The True Account of an Alaskan Serial Killer

270 Pages·2016·7.63 MB·English

by  Walter Gilmour

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Butcher, Baker
The True Account of an Alaska Serial Killer
Walter Gilmour and Leland E. Hale
IN MEMORY OF
Robert and Beth Hale
Major Walter J. Gilmour, AST, Retired
L.E.H.
TO
Major Mike Korhornen
and all the civilian personnel without whom
there wouldn’t have been a case.
W.G.
Authors’ Note
This is a work of nonfiction. While much of the dialogue in it is taken
directly from court and police transcripts, there are numerous instances in
which it has been reconstructed on the basis of the authors’ interviews
with relevant individuals. In addition, certain scenes have been
dramatically recreated in order to portray more effectively the
personalities involved in this story and the atmosphere surrounding the
events upon which this book is based.
It should be emphasized that a police investigation produces
conflicting versions of events. Where such conflict exists, the authors
have sought to provide the version which in their opinion is the most
credible.
The real names of the people involved in this story have been used,
except for Kitty Larson, Robyn Patterson, and Melanie Michaels. The
authors have chosen to disguise the identities of these people to
preserve their privacy. Any similarity between the fictitious names used
and those of living persons is, of course, entirely coincidental.
Introduction

Forty-six years ago, Robert Hansen came to Alaska on an odyssey that
culminated in violent attacks on women. By the time of his arrest and
conviction, there were between fourteen and 27 suspected killings.
Eyewitness accounts indicated a cruel mind who planned a humiliating
and deadly experience for his victims. His care in planning and use of
Alaskan wilds as a graveyard allowed him to continue to prey on women
almost with impunity. Interestingly enough, he was identified with an
emerging M.O. as early as 1972. At his sentencing, Judge Moody noted
that we are told of cases falling through the cracks in the criminal justice
system. This case was pushed through a hole.
Even as the Hansen case was unfolding, the Alaska State Troopers
developed protocols for sexual assault and reached out to Seattle Rape
Relief for assistance in building and supporting advocate safe houses in
Alaska. Today, most cities in Alaska have an advocate system involved
with rape investigations. Additionally, the Department of Public Safety in
Alaska has built a $56 million crime lab to speed evidence processing.
More is needed. We know that assaults of all types provide a breeding
ground for murder.
In 2013, the University of Alaska Justice Center released data which
reflects the percentage of Alaska women being assaulted. The data
indicates that Alaska is number one in the U.S. for sexual assaults.
Clearly the environment from 1972 to the present does not indicate a vast
improvement in outcomes.
The behavioral profile of present day serial killers and mass murderers
too often matches that of Robert Hansen. We need to identify those
behaviors early on and take steps to ameliorate them. As a first step, the
authors urge: “See something, say something.”
If there is any good news here, Robert Hansen remained in prison
throughout his 461 year plus life sentence, spending many of them as the
jailhouse barber. Hansen died of natural causes on August 21, 2014, at
the Anchorage Regional Hospital. He was 75 years old.
Of Robert Hansen’s death, Glenn Flothe, the retired Alaska state
trooper who was instrumental in Hansen’s 1984 capture, said: “On this
day we should only remember his many victims and all of their families,
and my heart goes out to all of them. As far as Hansen is concerned, this
world is better without him.”
Walter Gilmour and Leland E. Hale, authors
June 2016
Part One
1

Anchorage, Alaska
Sunday, June 13, 1983
The baker snatched her off the street at Fifth and Denali. Right in the
heart of town, where all the hookers hang out. He couldn’t stop himself.
Never can. When he wants something, he takes it.
This one’s name was Kitty Larson. Known to her parents as Victoria
Matthew. Like so many others, she was pretty and seventeen.
By the time she got to his house, he had slapped handcuffs on her.
Then he dragged her to his basement and raped her. She’d had strange
sex before, but nothing like this. “Tell me you want it,” he demanded. She
started to cry, wishing she’d never gotten in this man’s car. She should
have known the two hundred bucks he’d offered was way too much for a
lousy blowjob.
“Tell me you want it, baby,” he repeated.
She didn’t say anything. It didn’t matter. He came quickly. But Kitty
had other things to worry about, like how to escape.
“Maybe if I go to the bathroom,” she thought, “I can crawl through a
window.” She told him, “I have to go real bad. It hurts, I gotta go so bad.”
He nodded in agreement, but only after putting a thick nylon rope around
her neck. He held it taut like a leash until she started to pee. When the
rope suddenly went slack Kitty dashed to the bathroom window. It was
nailed shut. “Shit.”
The sound of heavy chains rattling in the den brought her back to the
bathroom door. They made a sharp, ringing sound as they dragged
across the floor. She stood with her toes to the doorsill, silent as a church
mouse. She was so paralyzed she was almost afraid to breathe. “He’s
gonna kill me,” she thought. “After what he did, he has to kill me.”
Kitty didn’t wait to find out what he had planned next. No way was he
going to trap her in the bathroom. The door nearly came off the hinges as
she hurled it open. She stood before him stark naked. He looked her over