Anchorage Police Department/(Flickr/Jack Johnson) Serial killer Robert Hansen's mugshot (left) and the sign of the Knik River, where he dumped many of his victims )right).
Tonight on the ID Channel, the episode of Mind of a Monster will take a look at the mind of serial killer Robert Hansen and look into his last taped confession. At the time of his death, Hansen was serving 461 years in prison after confessing to 17 murders.
According to All That’s Interesting, Hansen was coined the “Butcher Baker” because he owned a small bakery in downtown Anchorage, where he moved in 1967 to get away from life in Iowa where he grew up. According to the report, he was well-liked by people in the community and liked hunting.
Hansen abducted women and hunted them down in the Alaskan wilderness in the 1970s during the construction of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline. Hansen confessed to killing 17 women over a 12-year span and was sentenced in 1984.
Hansen was previously married to Darla Marie Henrichsen Hansen, but she divorced him after he was sent to prison. Read on to learn more about where she is now.
Richard Hansen’s Ex-Wife Divorced Him and Moved Away From Alaska
Hearing from this woman who had an encounter with the serial killer is chilling. The Butcher Baker: Mind of a Monster begins tonight at 9/8c.
According to The Cinemaholic, Hansen’s ex-wife Dorothy divorced him and moved away from Alaska after selling their house and bakery. They also reported that she is now married again.
The couple’s children were reportedly bullied in school for years following their father’s arrest, and though their mother originally wanted to stay in Alaska, they moved out after realizing that may not be possible.
According to Distractify, the couple had a fraught relationship from the start. Darla held a master’s degree in education and taught children with learning disabilities. She used the money she earned to run the household and support the children, but, Hansen reportedly took the money he made at the bakery and spend it on whatever he wanted.
It Was Reported that Darla Now Teaches in Russia as of 2018
Everyone knew Robert Hansen as the local bakery owner, not the serial killer he truly was.
The Butcher Baker: Mind of a Monster premieres Wednesday, September 2 at 9/8c. #WhoIsButcherBaker
According to a blog post written by Leland E. Hale, Darla is now teaching in Russia. Hale wrote the book that inspired The Frozen Ground, a movie based on Robert Hansen. In the movie, filmmakers named Robert Hansen’s wife Fran.
Darla told detectives after her husband’s arrest that she’d known he’d been up to no good, though she thought he was just seeing sex prostitutes in the early morning before starting work at the bakery. Darla believed, according to Hale, that she could help Robert and make him better. She got him to go to church with her and tried to “guide him toward a path of righteousness.”
Hansen died on August 21, 2014 in a hospital in Anchorage, according to the Washington Post. He was 75 years old at the time of his death. Hansen was incarcerated at a state prison in Seward, Alaska before being transferred to the Anchorage Correctional Center to receive medical attention.
Prior to being arrested and convicted of murder, Hansen had been arrested in Alaska more than once. In 1972, he was arrested for the abduction and attempted rape of a housewife and then later that year was arrested for raping a sex worker. His killing spree began less than a year later in 1973.
Tune in to Mind of a Monster tonight at 9 p.m. on the ID Channel to learn more about Hansen and his ex-wife Darla.
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