Offender Record · OFF-2026-093
Robert Hansen (photo from the Radford University biography)
Robert Christian Hansen
Also known as Bob the Baker, The Butcher Baker, The Runaway Killer
Sex
Male
Race
White
Height
5'6"
Born
1939
Custody
Deceased
States
AK, PA, CA, IA, NJ
Distinguishing featuresStuttered; severe acne scars (document); quiet, shy demeanor
Custody
Sentenced February 27, 1984 to 461 years plus life without parole; initially incarcerated at Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary in Pennsylvania before transfer to Alaska in 1988; died August 21, 2014 at Alaska Regional Hospital, Anchorage of natural causes.
This record documents arrests, charges and convictions reported by courts, law enforcement agencies and news organizations. Every statement is tied to a cited source with an archived copy. A charge is an accusation, not proof of guilt; a person charged is presumed innocent unless convicted. Solve the Case does not allege that this person committed any offense beyond what the cited records state, and this record is not a suggestion that the person is connected to any unsolved case. How records are built, corrected and removed.
Summary of the record
Robert Christian Hansen was convicted of four counts of first-degree murder in Anchorage, Alaska in February 1984. He pleaded guilty and confessed to killing 17 women and raping approximately 30 others between 1971 and 1983. Hansen abducted, raped, and murdered sex workers and young women, flying them via his Piper Super Cub bush plane to remote wilderness areas where he hunted them with firearms. He was sentenced to 461 years plus life without possibility of parole and died in prison on August 21, 2014.
Documented Arrests, Charges and Convictions
Dispositions are shown exactly as the cited records report them. Pending charges are updated when a court acts; a record with no remaining conviction or pending charge is removed from the site.
Offense date Dec 07, 1960, Pocahontas, Iowa
Arson (school bus garage fire)
Pocahontas County, Iowa · Iowa District Court · Arrested Dec 07, 1960 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Three years (served 20 months at Anamosa State Penitentiary before parole/release)
On December 7, 1960, Hansen and a teenager who worked at his father's bakery burned down the Pocahontas County Board of Education school bus garage. The teenager later turned himself in and implicated Hansen. Hansen claimed the act was revenge for his unpopularity in high school. He served 20 months of a three-year sentence at Anamosa State Penitentiary.
SourcesRobert Hansen; Robert Hansen (serial killer); Radford University serial killer biography: Hansen, Robert
Offense date Dec 1971, Anchorage, Alaska
Assault with a deadly weapon
Anchorage Police Department, Alaska · Alaska Superior Court · Arrested Dec 1971 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Five years (served six months before work release and halfway house placement)
In December 1971, Hansen was arrested for abducting and attempting to rape an unidentified housewife. He pleaded no contest to assault with a deadly weapon in connection with this offense. The rape charge in a separate incident involving a sex worker was dropped as part of a plea bargain.
SourcesRobert Hansen; Robert Hansen (serial killer)
Offense date 1980, Anchorage, Alaska
First-degree murder ('Eklutna Annie', unidentified)
Anchorage Police Department, Alaska · Anchorage Superior Court · Arrested Oct 27, 1983 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: 461 years plus life without parole (combined for 4 murder counts)
Victim identity remained unknown; remains were discovered near Eklutna Road in decomposed state in 1980. Hansen confessed to her murder. Alaska State Troopers requested public assistance in 2003 for identification, over 20 years after discovery. Victim was shot and buried in a shallow grave.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Hansen, Robert; Robert Hansen; Robert Hansen (serial killer); Serial Killer: Robert Hansen, who hunted his victims like animals
Offense date Jul 1980, Seward, Alaska
First-degree murder (Joanna Messina)
Anchorage Police Department, Alaska · Anchorage Superior Court · Arrested Oct 27, 1983 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: 461 years plus life without parole (combined for 4 murder counts)
Joanna Messina was last seen in July 1980 in Seward, Alaska. Hansen abducted her, transported her to his residence, assaulted and tortured her, then flew her to a remote wilderness area where he hunted and shot her with his .223-caliber Mini-14 rifle three times. Her body was found on September 12, 1982 by off-duty police officers hunting along Knik River.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Hansen, Robert; Robert Hansen; Robert Hansen (serial killer); Serial Killer: Robert Hansen, who hunted his victims like animals
Offense date Nov 17, 1981, Anchorage, Alaska
First-degree murder (Sherry Morrow)
Anchorage Police Department, Alaska · Anchorage Superior Court · Arrested Oct 27, 1983 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: 461 years plus life without parole (combined for 4 murder counts)
Sherry Morrow, 24, was last seen on November 17, 1981 in Anchorage. Hansen abducted her, transported her to his residence, assaulted and tortured her, then flew her to a remote wilderness area where he hunted and shot her three times with his .223-caliber Mini-14 rifle. Her body was found by off-duty police officers on September 12, 1982 along Knik River.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Hansen, Robert; Robert Hansen; Robert Hansen (serial killer); Serial Killer: Robert Hansen, who hunted his victims like animals
Offense date Apr 25, 1983, Anchorage, Alaska
First-degree murder (Paula Golding/Goulding)
Anchorage Police Department, Alaska · Anchorage Superior Court · Arrested Oct 27, 1983 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: 461 years plus life without parole (combined for 4 murder counts)
Paula Golding, 17, was last seen in Anchorage on April 25, 1983. Hansen abducted her, transported her to his residence, assaulted and tortured her, then flew her to a remote wilderness area where he hunted and shot her. Her body was found partially decomposed in a shallow grave along Knik River on September 2, 1983.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Hansen, Robert; Robert Hansen; Robert Hansen (serial killer); Serial Killer: Robert Hansen, who hunted his victims like animals
Offense date Jun 13, 1983, Anchorage, Alaska
First-degree assault and kidnapping
Anchorage Police Department, Alaska · Anchorage Superior Court · Arrested Oct 27, 1983 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Concurrent with murder sentences (461 years plus life without parole)
On June 13, 1983, Hansen offered a 17-year-old sex worker money for oral sex, then pulled a gun, drove her to his home in Anchorage, handcuffed and chained her by the neck in his basement while he slept. He then drove her to Merrill Field airport to load her into his Piper Super Cub bush plane for transport to a remote area. The victim escaped when Hansen briefly turned his back while loading supplies and fled to nearby Sixth Avenue. She was found by police and identified both Hansen and his plane.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Hansen, Robert; Robert Hansen; Robert Hansen (serial killer); Serial Killer: Robert Hansen, who hunted his victims like animals
Pattern and Background
Victim counts and the pattern of the offenses as stated by courts, agencies and the cited reporting. Suspected counts are what officials have said publicly, not a finding of this site.
4
Victims convicted
17
Victims confessed
0
Victims suspected
Active years
1971–1983
Victim profile
Young women, Teenagers, Sex workers, Strangers
Stated motive
Sexual, Power or control
Range from home
regional
Confessed
Yes
Cooperated with investigators
Yes
Education
high school
Marital history
Married, Divorced
Children
2
Died
2014-08-21 · natural
Places Lived, Worked and Frequented
Each place and date range comes from a cited record. Dates marked approximate are as reported. Know a place that is missing? Use Edit record under the photo; a moderator reviews it before it appears.
AK
Anchorage, Alaska
1967 – 1983 · Primary residence with family in Muldoon neighborhood area; location of attacks and abductions
Anchorage, Alaska
1971 – 1983 · Anchorage tenderloin district; targeted sex workers and exotic dancers on streets and in bars and nightclubs for abduction
Matanuska-Susitna, Alaska
1971 – 1983 · Remote wilderness cabin on Knik River; remote hunting ground for transporting and hunting victims
Anchorage, Alaska
approx. 1981 – 1983 · Owned and operated bakery in downtown mini-mall
Anchorage, Alaska
1982 – 1983 · Merrill Field Airport · Location where Hansen loaded victims onto his Piper Super Cub bush plane for transport to remote areas
Anchorage, Alaska
Oct 27, 1983 – Oct 27, 1983 · Arrested at workplace after investigators served search warrants on home and aircraft
Juneau, Alaska
approx. 1988 – Apr 1988 · Lemon Creek Correctional Center; brief transfer upon return to Alaska
Seward, Alaska
Apr 1988 – May 11, 2014 · Spring Creek Correctional Center; one of first inmates at newly opened facility in 1988; primary incarceration location for 26 years
Anchorage, Alaska
May 11, 2014 – Aug 21, 2014 · Anchorage Correctional Complex, medical segregation unit; transferred for declining health
CA
Richmond, California
approx. 1942 – 1949 · Family relocation
IA
Estherville, Iowa
approx. 1939 – 1942 · Birthplace; family residence
Pocahontas, Iowa
1949 – 1967 · Family home; father owned bakery
Pocahontas, Iowa
approx. 1957 – 1967 · Father's bakery; assistant drill instructor at police academy
Anamosa, Iowa
Dec 1960 – Aug 1962 · Anamosa State Penitentiary; arson conviction
NJ
Fort Dix, New Jersey
approx. 1957 – 1957 · Basic training, Army Reserve · army
PA
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
approx. Feb 27, 1984 – 1988 · United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary; per plea agreement, served in federal rather than state facility
Known Vehicles
Vehicles and approximate dates of ownership or use, as reported in the cited records. A photo next to a vehicle is the vehicle itself as published.
1982 blue-and-white Piper PA-18 Super Cub – Bush plane used to transport victims to remote areas for hunting and murder
1982 – 1983
Tail number N3089Z; purchased January 1982; never obtained pilot's license despite owning plane; victims identified plane after escaping; map found in cockpit marked with X's showing burial sites
Timeline
Feb 15, 1939
Robert Christian Hansen born in Estherville, Iowa.
1957
Joined U.S. Army Reserve; basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey.
1957
Graduated high school in class of 31 in Pocahontas, Iowa; name misspelled in yearbook.
Dec 07, 1960
First wife divorced him shortly after his arson arrest.
Dec 07, 1960
Arrested for burning down Pocahontas County school bus garage with accomplice; sentenced to three years in prison.
Aug 1962
Released from Anamosa State Penitentiary after serving approximately 20 months of three-year sentence.
1963
Married second wife; would remain married at time of 1983 arrest (married 20 years by then).
1967
Moved to Anchorage, Alaska with second wife and two children.
1969
Animals entered into Pope & Young's trophy hunting world-record books (records later nullified post-conviction).
Dec 1971
Arrested twice in December: for abducting and attempting to rape unidentified housewife; for raping unidentified sex worker.
Jan 1972
Sentenced to five years in prison for assault with deadly weapon conviction.
Jan 1972
Pleaded no contest to assault with deadly weapon in housewife case; rape charge in sex worker case dropped per plea bargain.
Feb 28, 1972
Psychiatric evaluation diagnosed Hansen with bipolar affective disorder after 1971 sexual assault charges.
Jun 1972
Released after serving six months of five-year sentence; placed on work release program and released to halfway house.
1973
Killing spree believed to have begun after release from half-way house, beginning with abduction and suspected murder of Celia van Zanten.
1976
Sentenced to five years in prison for larceny; required to receive psychiatric treatment for bipolar disorder.
1976
Arrested for attempting to steal chainsaw from Fred Meyer store in Anchorage; pleaded guilty to larceny.
1977
Diagnosed with bipolar disorder during imprisonment for chainsaw theft; released after one year.
1980
Body of unidentified victim 'Eklutna Annie' found near Eklutna Road in decomposed state.
Jan 1981
Purchased Piper Super Cub N3089Z aircraft; claimed to have never obtained pilot's license despite owning plane.
Jan 1981
Opened bakery business using money from false insurance claim (staged home robbery with hunting trophies hidden in backyard).
Sources
Solve the Case is never the original source. Each item below is the public record a statement on this page rests on, with an archived copy where one exists.
News report · EBSCO ·
Robert Hansen (serial killer)“In a plea deal, Hansen was convicted of killing four women and sentenced to life in prison plus 461 years.”
News report · Crime Library ·
Serial Killer: Robert Hansen, who hunted his victims like animals“On October 27, 1983, investigators followed Hansen to work and asked him to come with them to the police station for questioning.”
News report · Wikipedia ·
Robert Hansen“Robert Christian Hansen (February 15, 1939 – August 21, 2014), also known as the Butcher Baker, was an American serial killer active in Anchorage, Alaska, between 1971 and 1983, abducting, raping and murdering at least seventeen women.”
News report · Anchorage Daily News ·
'Frozen Ground' serial killer Hansen dead“Infamous Alaska serial killer Robert Hansen died Thursday morning at an Anchorage hospital, according to the Department of Corrections.”
News report · Alaska Public Radio ·
Alaska Serial Killer Robert Hansen Dies at 75“Hansen was convicted in 1984 after confessing to killing 17 women, mostly dancers and prostitutes, during a 12-year span.”
News report · Anchorage Daily News ·
'Butcher Baker' Robert Hansen moved to Anchorage for medical treatment“The Alaska Department of Corrections has confirmed that well-known serial killer Robert Hansen has been moved from Spring Creek Correctional Center in Seward to the Anchorage Correctional Complex.”
Other · Radford University Department of Psychology ·
Radford University serial killer biography: Hansen, Robert“Hansen pled guilty to 4 counts of first-degree murder in the cases of Paula Goodling, Joanna Messina, Sherry Morrow, and 'Eklutna Annie'”
News report · UPI ·
Sentenced to life plus 461 years“Hansen, a 44-year-old baker, was sentenced Monday after he confessed to killing four women and burying their bodies in shallow graves in the wilderness between the Seward and Susitna rivers.”
Discussion
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