Bear Brook murders

Bear Brook murders
Digital images created from CT scans of skulls to depict an estimation of the victims in life
Reconstructions of the victims in order of their age (clockwise), created in 2015
Date Between 1978 and 1984[1]
Bodies found on November 10, 1985 and May 9, 2000
Location Bear Brook State Park, Allenstown, New Hampshire, United States
Also known as Allenstown Four
Cause Blunt trauma
Deaths 4
Suspect(s) Terrence Peder Rasmussen (AKA Robert "Bob" Evans)[2]

The Bear Brook murders (also referred to as the Allenstown Four) are four unidentified female murder victims discovered in 1985 and 2000 at Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown, New Hampshire.[3] All of the victims were either partially or completely skeletonized; they are believed to have died between 1977 and 1985.[3][4][5]

The victims' faces have been reconstructed multiple times, most recently by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.[4][6][7]

In 2017, investigators announced that Terry Peder Rasmussen, who used multiple aliases including Robert "Bob" Evans, was the most likely suspect. He was confirmed, via DNA, to be the father of the 2-to-4-year-old girl found among the remains. He is also believed to be responsible for several other murders, including the disappearance of Denise Beaudin[8] in 1981. He was convicted of a different murder and died in prison in 2010.[9]

Discovery

On November 10, 1985, a hunter found a 55-gallon metal drum near the site of a burned-down store. Inside were the bodies of an adult female and young girl, wrapped in plastic (possibly a garbage bag).[4][7][10][11][12][13] Autopsies determined both had died of blunt trauma; they were later buried in the same grave.[5][14]

On May 9, 2000, the remains of two young girls were found near the first discovery site.[10] The bodies were also in a 55-gallon metal drum.[12][15] The cause of death for these children has not been determined.[7][16]

Victims

Reconstructions of the victims by Carl Koppelman

The woman may have had Caucasian and Native American heritage. She had curly or wavy brown hair and was between 5'2" and 5'7". Her teeth showed significant dental work, including multiple fillings and three extractions.[3][11][16] The three girls may have also had Native American heritage, with light or white complexions.[17]

The girl found with the adult female was between 5 and 11 years old. She had symptoms of pneumonia, a crooked front tooth and a diastema, two earrings in each ear, and was between 4'3" and 4'6" tall. Her hair was wavy and light brown; she had no dental fillings. [18]

The second-youngest girl (age estimated between 2–4 years old)[7][19] also had a gap in her front teeth. She had brown hair and was about 3'8" tall. She had an overbite, which was probably noticeable.[20] DNA proved the child was fathered by Terry Peder Rasmussen, a now-dead convicted killer who used the name Robert "Bob" Evans and other aliases. The child's mother was not the woman found with the children.

The youngest girl (estimated age 1–3 years old)[7][19] had long blond or light brown hair, was between 2'1" and 2'6" tall, and had a gap in her front teeth.[6][1]

Investigation

In the early days of the investigation, authorities publicized the case in the United States and some parts of Canada. At least ten possible identities were ruled out. Despite hundreds of leads, the bodies have not been identified.

In June 2013, new versions of the victims' facial reconstructions were created by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. These versions incorporated their dental information, showing how their teeth could have affected the appearance of their faces.[10] The reconstructions were created in black and white, as their skin tones and eye colors could not be determined.[21]

In November 2015, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released a third set of reconstructions of the four victims at a news conference at the New Hampshire State Attorney General's office.

DNA and other evidence

DNA profiling determined the woman, oldest and youngest girls were maternally related.[4][5][11] This meant the woman could have been the girls' mother, aunt, or older sister.[10][22]

Other information also shows the woman and children lived together in the Northeastern United States between two weeks and three months before their deaths. Investigators have also concluded the woman and two of the children lived in the area where their bodies were found. Advanced forensic testing showed the 2-to-4-year-old girl (Rasmussen's daughter) probably spent most of her childhood in either the upper Northeast or upper Midwest, perhaps Wisconsin.[23][24]

2017 developments

In January 2017, it was announced that Denise Beaudin, who had been missing since 1981, was connected to the murders.[25] Beaudin disappeared from Manchester, New Hampshire, along with her young daughter and then-boyfriend Robert "Bob" Evans. She was not reported missing until 2016, when her daughter resurfaced alive and well in California.[26][27]

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children subsequently announced an unidentified man known by the alias "Robert Evans" was the father of the middle child (who was not related to the other victims). They also said authorities believed Evans was the killer of the four Bear Brook victims, but did not elaborate.[28] Authorities stated that the Bear Brook woman was not Beaudin.[29] Authorities also indicated that "Robert Evans" was a pseudonym and that his true identity was unknown.[9] Evans died in prison in 2010, having been sentenced for the 2002 murder and dismemberment of his wife, California chemist Eunsoon Jun.[9]

In June, police released video of a police interview of Evans in hopes of finding his true identity.[30] Two months later, Terrence "Terry" Peder Rasmussen was confirmed through DNA testing as being Robert Evans. Born in 1943, Rasmussen was a native of Denver, Colorado.[31] He was discharged from the Navy in 1967, and married in 1969; he and his wife lived in Phoenix, Arizona and Redwood City, California. The couple had four children before his wife left him between 1973 and 1974. This family last saw Rasmussen around Christmas 1974. One of his sons from this marriage provided the DNA sample that finally identified Rasmussen in August 2017.[32]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Jane Doe 2000". missingkids.org. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  2. ↑ "True identity of serial killer who dumped bodies in barrels in NH has been determined". NH1. August 18, 2017. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 "Case File: 799UFNH". doenetwork.org. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Unidentified Female and Three Children". Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 "Mystery in Allenstown, NH". Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  6. 1 2 Marchocki, Kathryn (14 June 2014). "Police turn to technology in latest attempt to solve grisly murders". Union Leader Corporation. New Hampshire Union Leader. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Gast, Phil (June 6, 2013). "Cold-case murders of 4 females brought back to life by new images, DNA tests". CNN. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Charley Project: Denise Beaudin". Charley Project. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 Connor, Tracy (January 26, 2017). "Drifter Bob Evans Eyed as Serial Killer, Tied to N.H. Murders". NBC News. NBC. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Blackman, Jeremy (14 June 2014). "Investigators release new facial images of unidentified bodies in Allenstown cold case". Concord Monitor. Capitol Connections. Archived from the original on 21 June 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  11. 1 2 3 West, Nancy. "Investigators say decades-old homicide puzzle 'solvable'". New Hampshire Union Leader. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  12. 1 2 "NH/VT/ME Unsolved Homicides". 2005. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Police Look for Answers in Cold Case". WMUR News. 26 March 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  14. ↑ Hohler, Bob (31 May 1987). "Woman, girl unclaimed; Police search for names to go with two bodies; Aging mystery refuses to unravel". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 15 May 2014. (subscription required)
  15. ↑ "New Hampshire's Cold Cases". Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  16. 1 2 Langley, Karen (March 27, 2009). "Names of murdered lost over decades: Police hope to identify bodies left in barrels". Concord Monitor. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Do you know this family? Police use 3D models to reconstruct faces of a woman and three young girls found stuffed into barrels in New Hampshire woods 30 years ago". Daily Mail. 14 June 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  18. ↑ "Jane Doe 1985". missingkids.org. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  19. 1 2 "Case File: 801UFNH". The Doe Network. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  20. ↑ "Jane Doe2000". missingkids.org. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  21. ↑ "Authorities hope new 3D images will help ID victims in New Hampshire cold case". Fox. Fox News. 16 June 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  22. ↑ "New images released in Allenstown cold case". ABC. WMUR News. 14 June 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  23. ↑ "Unidentified Female". The Doe Network. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  24. ↑ Palladino, Christina (18 November 2015). "New Hampshire cold case could have ties to Wisconsin". Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  25. ↑ "Woman's '81 disappearance linked to steel drum bodies, DA says". ABC News. ABC. WCBV 5. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  26. ↑ Hansen, Chris (25 January 2017). "N.H. missing woman case linked to bodies found in steel drums in state park". Crime Watch Daily. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  27. ↑ Dandrea, Alyssa (25 January 2017). "AG: NH cold cases linked to California murder". Concord Monitor. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  28. ↑ "Allenstown Barrel Case Update". Help ID Me. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  29. ↑ "NamUs UP # 2174". identifyus.org. National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. 2 July 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  30. ↑ Downey, KC. "Video of police interview with 'Bob Evans' released; authorities hope for clues about killer". wmur.com. WMUR 9. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  31. ↑ Hershberger, Andy; Leclerc, Cherise. "Authorities reveal actual identity of killer known as 'Bob Evans'". wmur.com. WMUR 9. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  32. ↑ Augenstein, Seth. "True ID of 'Chameleon' Killer Revealed Terry Peder Rasmussen". Forensic Magazine. Forensic Magazine. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
External images
Original digital reconstruction of oldest child
2013 rendering of oldest child
2013 rendering of oldest child (profile)
Original digital reconstruction of middle child
2013 rendering of middle child
2013 rendering of middle child (profile)
Original digital reconstruction of youngest child
2013 rendering of the youngest child
Original digital reconstruction of adult
2013 rendering of adult

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