He wasn’t the most well-known American serial killer – but he may be one of the most sensationalistic. Robert Hansen, nicknamed the Butcher Baker by the media, was ultimately arrested in 1983 for the murder of at least seventeen women in and around Anchorage, Alaska. What shocked people wasn’t just the killings – but the fact that the twisted killer may have hunted the women for sport like a serial killer version of a big-game hunter. He terrorized America’s great north for years – but what does this have to do with the Hawkeye State? Born in Estherville, Robert Hansen may be the most famous serial killer from Iowa – and his reign of terror began early.
Ah, beautiful Estherville. Who would ever suspect that this bucolic northern Iowa town produced one of the most infamous monsters in American history?
TravelIowa
Robert Hansen, aka the Butcher Baker, took advantage of the isolated Alaskan wilderness to pull off a killing spree - but his terror began long before that.
Alaskan Police Department/Iowa
He grew up in Pocahontas, the son of a baker, and he was a disturbed boy for a long time before he started killing.
Pettingills/Wikipedia
He spent most of his time in the woods, hunting and practicing his killing skills - something he planned to use on a very different target.
TravelIowa
He had an intense interest in weapons from the start, doing a stint in both the US Army reserves and the local police department - failing out of both.
US Navy/Wikipedia
That led him down a bad path, as he was soon found guilty of Arson against a board of education building and spent time in the infamous Anamosa State Penitentiary.
Kepper66/Wikipedia
After being released, he went up north to Alaska, where he orchestrated a ten-year killing spree with the help of a Ruger Mini-14 rifle that allowed him to hunt his victims like the game he was so obsessed with.
Berean Hunter/Wikipedia
After one of his victims successfully got away, Hansen was finally caught and spent the next thirty years in the Spring Creek Correctional Center in Seward and other prisons, until his death in 2014.
Michael A. Haase/Wikipedia
But he was immortalized in the 2013 thriller The Frozen Ground, where he was portrayed by John Cusack. Hansen’s Iowa childhood was not featured, but he remains a dark secret of Estherville and Pocahontas.
Lionsgate/Wikipedia
Have you heard the dark tales of this infamous serial killer from Iowa? Let us know in the comments section if you come from his neck of the woods. If you want to know more about the maximum security prison where he did his time in Iowa, you can check out the Anamosa State Penitentiary website. If you want to learn more about Iowa’s dark criminal history, check out this haunted prison.
TravelIowa
Alaskan Police Department/Iowa
Pettingills/Wikipedia
US Navy/Wikipedia
Kepper66/Wikipedia
Berean Hunter/Wikipedia
Michael A. Haase/Wikipedia
Lionsgate/Wikipedia
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Address: Estherville, IA 51334, USAAddress: Pocahontas, IA 50574, USAAddress: Anamosa State Penitentiary, 406 N High St, Anamosa, IA 52205, USA
