book on bear brook murders

I was contacted one day by my nephew, and he was working with the sheriff's department out in California, Armand Beaudin told 20/20. They requested for me to do a DNA [test], and they discovered that I was the actual grandfather.. according to a timeline released by the attorney general's office. Four bodies-one woman, and three little girls-found in two barrels years apart. When somebody's story keeps changing, it means that they [have] either made something up, can't remember what they told you the first time or that they're lying to you, she added. [33] They also said that "Robert Evans" was a pseudonym and that the man's legal identity was unknown. Want to make sure that NHPR continues creating projects like Bear Brook? The second child found in the second barrel has not yet been identified although DNA evidence has confirmed thatRasmussen wasthe parent of this unknown victim and that she was not biologically related to Honeychurch or her daughters. [43], Last edited on 28 December 2022, at 20:07, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, "True identity of serial killer who dumped bodies in barrels in NH has been determined", "How a Jane Doe child case uncovered a serial killer, identified victims and changed the use of DNA forensics", "Woman, 2 children found in barrels in state park identified, officials say", "Timeline of Terry Peder RASMUSSEN and Marlyse Elizabeth HONEYCHURCH", "Cold-case murders of 4 females brought back to life by new images, DNA tests", "Investigators release new facial images of unidentified bodies in Allenstown cold case", "Investigators say decades-old homicide puzzle 'solvable', "Woman, girl unclaimed; Police search for names to go with two bodies; Aging mystery refuses to unravel", "Serial killer Terry Rasmussen's victims, known and unknown", "Names of murdered lost over decades: Police hope to identify bodies left in barrels", "Police turn to technology in latest attempt to solve grisly murders", "Authorities hope new 3D images will help ID victims in New Hampshire cold case", "New images released in Allenstown cold case", "New Hampshire cold case could have ties to Wisconsin", "Woman's '81 disappearance linked to steel drum bodies, DA says", "Drifter Bob Evans Eyed as Serial Killer, Tied to N.H. It wasnt Rasmussens first time in prison, however hed just been using a different name. Big, like 4 or 5 feet around and probably 2 or 3 feet high, she said. The remains of a young girl, aged 2 to 4, was found in the second barrel with Sarahs remains in 2000. In 1985 and then again in 2000, police discovered the dismembered. We had a sister that was gone. After his release, he assumed the name "Larry Vanner" and began living with chemist Eunsoon Jun in 2001. [5] Throughout 1980, he was arrested in Manchester three times for writing a bad check, theft, and diverting electric current. [2] The three girls were thought to also have some Native American heritage; they had light or European-American complexions. After Jenson disappeared, the Deckers were unable to complete the adoption and Lisa was taken into protective custody. [29], Evans died in prison in December 2010. Gruenheid said she later determined a man matching Vanners description had bought 10 bags of cat litter from a nearby pet store. This isn't the big news we're hoping to break - stay subscribed for another full episode of Bear Brook that we hope to bring you soon. He had an unofficial backyard marriage ceremony to Eunsoon Jun in Richmond that same year, though no marriage certificates were ever filed. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. DNA proved this child was fathered by Terry Peder Rasmussen. Bear Brook | S2 - TRAILER Trailer: Bear Brook S2: A True Crime Story 00:00 03:23 [39] By October 1978, Sarah's father was seeing another woman and Sarah was presumably in the care of her mother. Thanks for your support. And he wasnt being cooperative with that at all.. October 31, 2018 A child is abandoned. In the show's second season, host Jason Moon returns with a new, even more complex story: In 1989, New Hampshire police . The Bear Brook murders in Allenstown, New Hampshire. Police have not been able to link Rasmussen to other cases, according toStrelzin. Diane Kloepfer is one of four biological children Terry Rasmussen fathered in his marriage. Renee Rose spoke to "20/20" about her friend Eunsoon Jun. [12][16] The cause of death for these children was also blunt force trauma. He had settled in nearby Manchester, New Hampshire, under the alias "Bob Evans" in the late 1970s. His own taped confession. Rasmussen's identity was confirmed via DNA from a son from his first marriage. "[14] He has been dubbed "The Chameleon Killer" due to his use of various aliases and his crime spree which stretched across the country. A True Crime Story is about what happens when the official narrative is challenged. One of the victims had been his daughter. [16], Elizabeth Lamotte was 17 years old when she disappeared from the Youth Development Center in Manchester in 1984. Other forensic information showed that the woman and children lived together in the Northeastern United States between two weeks and three months before their deaths. We have his eyes. [5] Two months later, he was confirmed to be Rasmussen, through Y-DNA testing from a DNA sample contributed by one of his children from what is believed to be his first marriage. A paternity test comparing Rasmussens blood from prison and a sample police had from 5-year-old Lisa showed Rasmussen was not her father. Want to make sure that NHPR continues creating projects like Bear Brook? Through the years my mother always said, You know, something's not right. [18] However, DNA from Lamotte's relatives later proved that she was one of the victims in the Redhead murders, a series of unsolved homicides across the United States which are unrelated to Rasmussen. Similar posts also aided in the identifications of the victims. Curiously, against the advice of his attorneys, Vanner pleaded guilty to the murder during his trial. Known by a lengthy list of aliases, Terry Peder Rasmussen has been dubbed The Chameleon Killer for assuming so many different identities as he infiltrated families and destroyed lives in New Hampshire and California. We were playing a game of hide and seek, Morgan told 20/20. I was approached by one of the kids in the group that he had come upon a barrel out in the middle of the woods, which was off the trail. She was born in Hawaiian Gardens, California, when her father was in the Marines. [11][17], The girl found with the adult female, later identified as Vaughn, was between 5 and 11 years old. It was there that she introduced her family to her boyfriend, Terry Rasmussen, according to the New Hampshire Department of Justice. [8], On November 10, 1985, a hunter found a metal 55-gallon drum near the site of a burned-down store at Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown, New Hampshire. Let's talk about the Bear Brook murders. Together we have been able to uncover the identity of the Allenstown killer, a murderer who tried to erase his victims and hide in the process, tried to hide who he was and what he did, but ultimately he wasnt successful, Strelzin said, according to The Washington Post. He was sentenced to 15 years to life in jail. Authorities have connected 5 murders to Rasmussen and they fear there are more. In 1981, Denise Beaudin went missing shortly after Thanksgiving with her 6-month-old daughter and her boyfriend, Rasmussen, whom she had known as Robert T. Evans, according to the New Hampshire Department of Justice. Although this moment is bittersweet, they had their names back on this day. There Were Two Barrels And Four Bodies In 1985, a hunter came across a steel drum containing the bodies of a woman between the ages of 23 and 33 and a girl between the ages of 5 and 11. I was like, There is no way there is no way thats a coincidence,' Heath said, This is huge.'. Since 2017, he has been named as a suspect in several other crimes. When they reached out to Jenson again to finalize the adoption, he had disappeared. Most serial killers would never do that; it's the last thing they would do. Huber said the body of a woman was found in a state of advanced decomposition and police couldnt discern the womans facial features. Police believe her answer indicates they may have been killed by Rasmussen, too. Honeychurch was 24 at the time, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Additionally, Huber said the womans remains bore the hallmarks of Rasmussens other victims. Rasmussen has been linked to five horrific murders and authorities fear there are more. The abandonment of five-year-old Lisa in Scotts Valley, California. But, I think until we know her identity, we're not going to solve the case.. She left the group home after receiving a furlough, so she was not reported missing until police were seeking more information on Rasmussen in 2017. As of June2019[update], the third child remains unidentified, but authorities were able to confirm that Rasmussen was her biological father. Lisa sent a sample of her DNA to an ancestry website and learned her mothers name: Denise Beaudin. Rae-Venter said that in viewing the timeline for Rasmussen, it appears most likely that his daughter was born in Texas, possibly on the Gulf Coast if Rasmussen was working on an oil rig at the time. Online, she found a post from someone who mentioned the name Sarah McWaters. [13], Police released a video of a police interview of Evans in June 2017 in hopes of finding his true identity. Public DomainTerry Peder Rasmussens 2002 mugshot after his arrest for the murder of his girlfriend Eunsoon Jun. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. Then, by reopening an earlier case, she helped a genetic genealogist to discover the identity of a girl the killer claimed was his daughter, and then, the killers true identity. an investigative journalist and the author of the book "Chase Darkness With Me." . The scavengers actually walked out in the middle [of the canal], because it was just mud cut the rope and opened it up here and that's when they saw what they thought was a human being inside, Huber told 20/20.. In 1995, scavengers found a refrigerator containing what former detective John Huber believes may be another one of Rasmussens victims. He had been convicted and sentenced as Evans for the 2002 murder and dismemberment of his wife at the time, Eunsoon Jun, a chemist in California. [42] In February 2020, a new rendering of the fourth victim was released by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and New Hampshire State Police. David Salamon, Honeychurchs brother, remembered the lengths to which their family went to find Honeychurch and her daughters. A child is abandoned. An early morning drug deal in a hotel bathroom ends in tragedy. I wished he'd lived longer, so he would have suffered longer in prison, myself.. Want to make sure that NHPR continues creating projects like Bear Brook? Beaudin's daughter was abducted by Rasmussen and taken to California, where he raised her under the pseudonym "Gordon Jensen". She was 2 to 4 years old at the time of her death, placing her birthdate between 1975-1977. It just made me angry and curious.. [6] They last saw Rasmussen around December 1975 or 1976, when he showed up with an unidentified woman. The first barrel was discovered in 1985, the second in 2000. Josh is charged under the federal death resulting law a new and growing strategy for prosecutors and faces a sentence of two decades or longer. From left: Marlyse Honeychurch, Marie Elizabeth Vaughn, a still unidentified victim, and Sarah McWaters. "So our suspect started in 1984 as 'Curtis Kimball.' Then we had 'Gordon Jenson.' "[37], On June 6, 2019, New Hampshire investigators held a press conference regarding the case and revealed the identities of three of the victims. of Corrections, he broke parole and fled, Gruenheid said. Evans was listed as married to a woman named Elizabeth, according to documents from 1980. By 2017, Bob Evans was dead, and investigators believed he had killed Denise Beaudin after they left New Hampshire. For more than two decades, the Bear Brook murders remained a complete mystery. Heath submitted her tip to authorities in October 2018. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. [4] The identities of the middle child, who Rasmussen fathered, and her mother remain unknown. Inside The Horrifying Mystery Of The Bear Brook Murders. For more on the case, visit bearbrookpodcast.com. [6] These techniques have since been used in other high-profile cases, including the Golden State Killer case, leading to the arrest of suspect Joseph James DeAngelo in April 2018. [41] Sarah was laid to rest in Connecticut, closer to her father's family. February 13, 2019 A son remembers his father, and searches for clues in his military paperwork. A search leads authorities to his basement. Decades later, investigators discovered that Denise Beaudin was the mother of the child known as Lisa, a little girl Rasmussen claimed in the 1980s was his daughter, which DNA tests later confirmed wasnt true. Crime News is your destination for true crime stories from around the world, breaking crime news, and information about Oxygen's original true crime shows and documentaries. After reading about the long journey to identify the Chameleon Killers victims, read about the Green River Killer, Gary Ridgway. Her answer led police to believe that Rasmussen killed them too. A staff writer for All That's Interesting, Austin Harvey has also had work published with Discover Magazine, Giddy, and Lucid covering topics on mental health, sexual health, history, and sociology. Buried in the cat litter, police found a human foot completely mummified wearing a flip flop. In her free time, Heath began scouring the internet for any clues she could find. I guess dying serves him right, Rose said. The bodies could not be identified at the time, leading the case to go cold. Murders", "Criminologist: 'Allenstown killer is unlike any serial killer I have ever studied', "New Hampshire's most infamous cold case leads to unrelated 1985 Tenn. homicide", "New Hampshire unsolved case file: Disappearance of Denise Daneault", "Remains found in Tennessee in 1985 identified as teen missing from Manchester since 1984", "Homicide victim in Greene County cold case identified after 33 years", "After 27 years, "Lady in the Fridge" is Identified", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Terry_Peder_Rasmussen&oldid=1141199064, American people who died in prison custody, American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, North High School (Phoenix, Arizona) alumni, Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by California, Prisoners who died in California detention, Serial killers who died in prison custody, Violence against women in the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing potentially dated statements from June 2019, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 23 February 2023, at 21:39. [8] A second barrel was found about 100 yards from the first one in 2000 containing the body of McWaters and an unidentified child aged between two and four years old. Show 8 More Episodes. With the confirmation, police believe theycan officially implicate serial killerTerry Peder Rasmussen, who had passed away while in prison in 2010, in their deaths. They were buried together at a local Allenstown cemetery with a donated gravestone that read: Here lies the mortal remains known only to God of a woman aged 23-33 and a girl child aged 8-10. All of them are still alive. Bear Brook is an American true crime podcast covering the Bear Brook murders. Police believe Terry Rasmussen, a man one expert deemed the worst serial killer, murdered the four women and children found stuffed into barrels in a New Hampshire state park decades ago. Came to a dead end, Salamon said. We have never stopped looking, he said. He would say, Well she's busy taking care of her mother or She was going to get some therapeutic help, Rose said Vanner told her. Timelines come together. Evans later abandoned a young girl, "Lisa", at a campground, and she was found to not be his daughter. And Denise only had one daughter, whom she had named Dawn. A family tree begins to take shape. [20], In January 2017, it was announced that Denise Beaudin, who had been missing since 1981, was connected to the murders. Well it is Wednesday! [3][4][11] This means that the woman could have been the girls' mother, aunt, or older sister. November 15, 2018 This is the first in an unknown number of short updates to the story of the Bear Brook murders that we'll be producing to let listeners know about any breaking news in the case. and I went, This can't be, Rose said of learning her friend was gone. She had blunt force trauma to the head, and then she was put in a container and the container was tied off and he dumped it, he said. The middle child, identified as Rasmussen's daughter, currently remains unidentified. Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty ImagesRebekah Becky Heath, the researcher and libararian who obsessively worked to discover Rasmussens victims identities. One of the brothers just pushed the barrel over. The podcast had reignited interest in the case, and captured the attention of a 34-year-old librarian from Connecticut named Becky Heath. The mother of the middle child, the unidentified girl in the second barrel found at Bear Brook in 2000, who was determined to be Rasmussens biological daughter, has also never been found nor identified. The last time Honeychurch was seen by her family wasonThanksgiving 1978, according to a timeline released by the attorney general's office. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Host Jason Moon documents how those involved grapple with the idea that the prevailing story about who killed Sharon Johnson could be a lie. When alternate versions are told by lawyers and podcasters as part of a mounting effort to free Jason Carroll from prison and clear his name. Sarah L. McWaters was 11 months old when she was last seen with her mother and sister around Thanksgiving of 1978. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! But only 19-year-old Jason Carroll was convicted. [3] Moon began covering the cold case in 2015, and later started the podcast. This linked him to New Hampshire in the same timeframe as the Bear Brook murders, when he was known as Robert Evans. [29] Beaudin was not reported missing until 2016, when her daughter resurfaced alive and well in California after there was more publicity about the murders and Beaudin's disappearance. She left the home after a trivial argument with her mother and was never seen alive again. The poster claimed to be McWaters half-sister. He abandoned her in 1986 and was subsequently imprisoned on child abandonment charges. We do regrettably fear that his daughter's mother is probably another victim somewhere, Carol Schweitzer, of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said. How investigators had missed it over a decade prior remains unclear, but the second barrel, like the first, contained the mutilated bodies of two young girls, stored in the same manner. In the show's second season, host Jason Moon returns with a new, even more complex story: In 1989, New Hampshire police charged three men in the murder of a pregnant woman named Sharon Johnson. Rasmussen killed at least six people in a series of crimes that spanned decades and stretched across the continental United States. [10], Throughout the early 1980s, Rasmussen remained in possession of Beaudin's daughter, whom he called Lisa, and posed as her father. The children both went through periods where they were in the custody of their fathers, but Marlyse would later regain guardianship. February 20, 2023 Sharon Johnson's family and friends have spent the last 35 years coping with her brutal murder. My father's been outta my life since I was, like, 6 or 7, she said. [7] His cause of death was a combination of lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pneumonia. To make a donation in support of Bear Brook, click here. A sister and two nieces.. By Eric Shorey & Gina Tron [7] Based on the date they disappeared, available documents and Rasmussen's activities, the victims most likely died between 1978 and 1981. One of his sons from this marriage provided the DNA sample that confirmed Rasmussen as Evans in June 2017. Investigators said they finally got a break in 2017, when a new forensic technique known as genetic genealogy pinpointed Rasmussen as the likely culprit. Maricopa County Sheriffs Department, Arizona.A mugshot of Terry Rasmussen from 1973. Police question a man with multiple identities. In 1985, there was a grim discovery made in Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown, New Hampshire: Two decomposing bodies found in a barrel. DNA evidence then connected the man officially identified as Terry Rasmussen to the bodies found in Bear Brook. [6] The two were married in an unofficial ceremony in 2001. While living in Manchester, New Hampshire, Rasmussen lived under the alias "Robert 'Bob' Evans" and worked at the Waumbec Mill. Before that, hed been jailed in 1988 for driving a stolen vehicle under the name Gerry Mockerman, and even earlier in 1985 for drunk driving and child endangerment. Murders", "N.H. missing woman case linked to bodies found in steel drums in state park", "AG: NH cold cases linked to California murder", National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, "Video of police interview with 'Bob Evans' released; authorities hope for clues about killer", "Authorities reveal actual identity of killer known as 'Bob Evans', "True ID of 'Chameleon' Killer Revealed Terry Peder Rasmussen", "New Hampshire's Most Infamous Cold Case Leads to Unrelated 1985 Tenn. Terry Peder Rasmussen (December 23, 1943 December 28, 2010) was an American serial killer. Rasmussen had been convicted of the murder of aromantic partner in 2003. The woman also told Heath that her missing family member had once married a man with the last name Rasmussen. Jason Carroll is serving life in prison for a murder he says he didn't commit. The identification of three decomposing corpses discovered in barrels in a New Hampshire state park have led police to believe they've solved a decades-old crime. Terry Rasmussen poses as "Larry Vanner" in an arrest photo from 2002. The conclusion was made after family members of the victims helped with the process ofDNA testing andgenetic genealogy. In October 2018, the New Hampshire Public Radio released a podcast called Bear Brook, which explored the bizarre, unique case. She was only 5 months old when they left Manchester, [New Hampshire], Armand Beaudin said. And they left never called. ET on ABC. [14] Denise Daneault, a 25-year-old woman who lived two blocks from the Rahn residence, went missing from a bar in June 1980. Rasmussen was convicted and sentenced for the murder in 2002 of his then-wife, Eunsoon Jun; he died in prison in 2010. Jesse Morgan, who grew up in a small trailer park surrounded by Bear Brook, was 11 when he and his friends stumbled upon the barrel. May their souls find peace in Gods loving care.. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Came to a dead end. More than 30 years later, is it possible to get to the truth - and who gets to tell it? It was just odd that the barrel was out there It was [a] slightly rusted, dark blue barrel. Honeychurch was last seen in La Puente, California, on Thanksgiving day that year. Beaudin and Dawn, an infant at the time, had gone missing from their home in Manchester, New Hampshire just after Thanksgiving in 1983. [2] He often worked as an electrician for oil and gas companies. Three of the victims would be identified, however, two years later, thanks to the obsessive amateur sleuthing of Rebekah Heath and Barbara Rae-Venter. [10] Jun disappeared in June 2002 and her body was found buried in cat litter in their home after having died from blunt force trauma to the head. A second search was conducted in May 2018. According to investigators, the reason that it took so long for the second drum to be recovered is that it was located outside the proximity of the initial crime scene. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. He was linked to the 1981 disappearance of a woman in New Hampshire that he was thought to be dating and was serving time for the murder of his wife in California when he died of natural causes in . Sarah is believed to have been 2 to 3 years old at the time she was killed, according to authorities. The bones of a foot . His wife left him between 1973 and 1974 and his family last saw him around Christmas 1974. Marlyse Elizabeth Honeychurch (b. It can conquer death." +4. She had brown hair and was about 3ft 8in (1.12m) tall. Lamotte had been found in Tennessee in 1985, killed about four months after her disappearance. Anyone who is aware of a missing child or a missing child and her mother from the late 1970s to early 1980s can call New Hampshire State Police at 603-271-2663 or email coldcaseunit@dos.nh.gov.. [4], While using the pseudonym Bob Evans, Rasmussen dated Denise Beaudin, who disappeared from Manchester, New Hampshire, after Thanksgiving of 1981 with her six-month-old daughter. But there was no doubt the killings had been the handiwork of the same person. Under his plea agreement, an additional charge of child abuse was dropped. October 24, 2018 An ominous New Year's party introduction. How could it be bright and sunny when Eunsoon's dead?. New Hampshire State Attorney's Office, Sarah Lynn McWaters, Marlyse Elizabeth Honeychurch and Marie Elizabeth Vaughn. It was reported that he was known to travel with women and children. [26][27] In 2019, however, it is stated that the nonrelated child most likely originated from Arizona, Texas, California or Oregon, although additional locations cannot be excluded. After his stint in the 1990s, Rasmussen stayed off authorities radar for a little over a decade. The veteran detective on the case develops a theory involving her husband and a teenager. He pleaded guilty to the death of his partnerEunsoon Jun, landing him a 15 year prison sentence, according to The Los Angeles Times. [Its because] there's still one victim out there, former Detective Cody said. A fourth victim in the . Bodies In Bear Brook Barrel Murders Linked To 'Worst Serial Killer Out There' Police believe Terry Rasmussen, a man one expert deemed the worst serial killer, murdered the four women and children found stuffed into barrels in a New Hampshire state park decades ago. Marie E. Vaughn was first, born in 1971, then Sarah L. McWaters was born in 1977, according to the New Hampshire Department of Justice. 3, 2023 at 9:04 AM PST | Updated: 20 minutes ago. Click here to donate $20. Investigators knew who their killer was, but they still had no clue who the victims were. bodies found. [8] DNA evidence eventually found that he was not Lisa's father and the case spent years without any significant developments. [6] He was arrested in Cypress, California, in 1985 under the name Curtis Kimball for charges of driving under the influence and endangering the welfare of a child but failed to appear in court.