book on bear brook murders

But only 19-year-old Jason Carroll was convicted. It can conquer hate. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. The remains of a young girl, aged 2 to 4, was found in the second barrel with Sarahs remains in 2000. February 20, 2023 Sharon Johnson's family and friends have spent the last 35 years coping with her brutal murder. Honeychurch may have adopted the alias name "Elizabeth Evans" to use in legal documents during May 1980. Jason Carroll is serving life in prison for a murder he says he didn't commit. Vanner fended off her loved ones questions with an array of excuses. [10][25] In 2015, the woman was identified as the mother of the two girls. A family tree begins to take shape. A True Crime Story is about what happens when the official narrative is challenged. 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. Which says, yeah, there's more victims out there, definitely.. [8] Authorities believe that Rasmussen killed Beaudin somewhere in California, although her body has never been found. 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. Curiously, the first drum was way back in 1985 and the second wasnt discovered until 2000. Rebekah Heath, a research librarian who said shed become obsessed with the case, helped identify the woman and the two children through her own sleuthing. Terry Rasmussen poses for arrest photo from 1973. 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. 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. Replies were filled with other people who also believed they were related to Sarah one member of a family of three who had gone missing sometime in the late 1970s. It can conquer death." +4. As Evans, he dated Denise Beaudin, who disappeared in 1981. I closed the blinds back up. Curiously, against the advice of his attorneys, Vanner pleaded guilty to the murder during his trial. It's a blue 55-gallon steel drum. 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.. Honeychurch's body and one of the girl's bodieswerefound in November1985 in a barrel tipped on its side inBear Brook State Park in Allenstown, New Hampshire. They had been living with a man named Bob Evans. Marie E. Vaughn was first, born in 1971, then Sarah L. McWaters was born in 1977, according to the New Hampshire Department of Justice. [21], The youngest girl, later identified as McWaters, was estimated to be 1 to 3 years old,[9][19] had long blond or light brown hair, was between 2ft 1in (0.64m) and 2ft 6in (0.76m) tall, and also had a gap between her front teeth.[22][23]. He holds a bachelor's degree in screenwriting (widely considered to be a bad move) from Point Park University. And for years, no one could put a name to them, instead referring to the Bear Brook murders.. 1971) and Sarah Lynn McWaters (b. In 2003, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department opened a case to find Lisa's biological family. Their slain bodies were found on November 10th, 1985, in Bear Brook State Park. He was 62 years old when he passed away in prison. On Nov. 10, 1985, a hunter trekking through Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown, New Hampshire came across a large, industrial steel drum. There is one girl who we don't know who she is. October 31, 2018 This is part two of episode 5. [8], San Joaquin County, California Assistant Sheriff John Huber speculated that Rasmussen may have been responsible for killing Amanda Schumann Deza, In 1995, her body was discovered by scavengers inside of a refrigerator which had been dumped in a canal. It's just kind of sitting out in the woods., The brother that found the barrel went over to it and tried to lift the top of the barrel and when he did that, we were hit with a smell that was absolutely putrid. It had previously been thought impossible to recover autosomal DNA from hair strands that were no longer attached to the root, but a forensic lab in California had been working on a new method to reassemble the broken autosomal DNA found in rootless hair. Maricopa County Sheriffs Department, Arizona. 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.. Four months later, Ron Montplaisir, who was an Allenstown, New Hampshire police officer at the time, got a call from dispatch to meet a hunter at the edge of the woods. Honeychurchs sisters, Roxanne Barrows and Michelle Chagaris, remember her as bubbly and quirky, and said she had a good sense of humor.. [5] His wife left him and took the children in 1975 after he was arrested for aggravated assault. There's always that hope, but nothing's definite.. It was sad, Salamon said. [7], By 1978, Rasmussen was dating Marlyse Elizabeth Honeychurch. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The remains of Marie and her mother, Honeychurch, were found in the first of two barrels that were discovered at Bear Brook State Park in November 1985. He pleaded guilty to the death of his partnerEunsoon Jun, landing him a 15 year prison sentence, according to The Los Angeles Times. Also in the refrigerator, was a unique brand of milk that was only delivered to a certain area that matched up with where Rasmussen had been at the time, Huber said. As the Los Angeles Times reported, Rasmussen had spent time in jail in the early 1990s for theft under the name Robert Evans. In 1985 the plastic wrapped bodies of a woman and girl were discovered in a metal drum in a forest in Allenstown, New Hampshire. [33] They also said that "Robert Evans" was a pseudonym and that the man's legal identity was unknown. I do, my sister does, and my brother does., I do know that my mother tells me All that I can get from her is that he was the great love of her life, she said. Testing his DNA, they also determined that the man had not, in fact, been Lisas father and an investigation began to find out who Lisa really was. During this hunt, one of the brothers noticed an oil barrel while walking down a trail. [13] Additionally, they announced that DNA confirmed that he was the father of the middle child found in Allenstown but that Evans was a pseudonym and his legal identity was not known. He was polite and soft spoken and very smart, and with his twinkly blue eyes he could get somebody to maybe trust him, Gruenheid told 20/20. All we were really trying to do was to determine where Eunsoon was and if she was okay. 2021 TV-14 Deep in the woods of New Hampshire, police find barrels with the remains of mutilated victims. 1954) was the mother of Marie Elizabeth Vaughn (b. The unidentified yo. Her hair was wavy and light brown; she had no dental fillings. Inside were the bodies of an adult female and young girl, wrapped in plastic. [10], Rasmussen resurfaced in December 1999 under the pseudonym Larry Vanner when California-based chemist Eunsoon Jun introduced him to her family. A search leads authorities to his basement. For Bear Brook listeners, a full episode preview of Jason Moon's latest reporting project, Death Resulting. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! [29], In June 2017, police released a video of a police interview of Evans in hopes of finding his true identity. They werent identified until 2019; at that time, authorities believed Marie was 8 to 10 years old at the time of her death. February 13, 2019 A son remembers his father, and searches for clues in his military paperwork. Jenson arranged for Lisa to be taken to Southern California for two weeks with another family, Katherine and Richard Decker. Timelines come together. Marlyse was excited to be a mom. Police have not been able to link Rasmussen to other cases, according toStrelzin. A chameleon is revealed. In 1981, Denise Beaudin went missing shortly after Thanksgiving with her 6-month-old daughter and her boyfriend, Rasmussen, who she knew as Robert T. Evans, according to the New Hampshire Department of Justice. Big, like 4 or 5 feet around and probably 2 or 3 feet high, she said. The guys jumped on my four-wheeler and we booted out of there and that was the last time that we saw the barrel.. 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. [4], In November 1985, the bodies of Honeychurch and Vaughn were found in a barrel in Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown, New Hampshire. New Hampshire State Attorney's Office, Sarah Lynn McWaters, Marlyse Elizabeth Honeychurch and Marie Elizabeth Vaughn. But there was no doubt the killings had been the handiwork of the same person. In 2014, police announced that DNA profiling had revealed through MtDNA that the woman, and oldest and youngest girls were maternally related. 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.. She said her mother and Rasmussen got married in 1968 in Hawaii. Ultimately, the body was identified as Jun, who police determined had died of blunt force trauma to the head. [2] All four of the victims were either partially or completely skeletonized; they were believed to have died between 1977 and 1981. [3][4][11] This means that the woman could have been the girls' mother, aunt, or older sister. Roxane Gruenheid was a homicide detective at the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office. In her free time, Heath began scouring the internet for any clues she could find. Authorities fear both Beaudin and the unidentified mother of the middle child are other possible victims of Rasmussen. She said that she did, but they died from eating grass mushrooms when they were out camping, Deputy Headley 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. Inside, he found two bodies, dismembered, wrapped in plastic bags, and highly skeletonized beyond recognition, Oxygen reported. [4] They were found to have died of blunt force trauma to their heads. Golden State Killer's invisible victims: Men whose lives were . Eunsoon Jun, a chemist from California, was the first victim authorities were able to tie to Rasmussen. Jun disappeared from Richmond, California, in June 2002, approximately two years after Vanner met her family and friends. I guess dying serves him right, Rose said. It was just a situation where, every time we searched, [we] came to a dead end. THE CHAMELEON KILLER 'Bear Brook Murders' Starcasm Staff September 5, 2021 The Chameleon Killer, True Crime For 30 years the killer of bodies found in barrels near Bear Brook State Park,. [5] In 1989, he received a three-year prison sentence for child abandonment. [2] He often worked as an electrician for oil and gas companies. For more on the case, visit bearbrookpodcast.com. Born in 1943, Rasmussen was a native of Denver, Colorado. Let's talk about the Bear Brook murders. In November 2002, he was arrested for Juns murder and in 2003, he was sentenced to prison for 15 years to life after he pled guilty to the crime. The Bear Brook murders (aka the Allenstown Four) are four female American murder victims, discovered in 1985 and 2000, at Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown, New Hampshire. The Bear Brook Murders. Authorities believed that Evans was the killer of the four Bear Brook victims, but did not elaborate. When people ask me who was the worst serial killer out there I point to him and the reason is this: he not only would kill a woman but he would take their children, molest their children, and not only that but use their children as a lure to get his next victim and I cant think of anything more horrible than that.. And they left never called. After countless hours of research, genetic genealogist Rae-Venter found Armand Beaudin, Lisas maternal grandfather. Thanks for your support. 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. according to a timeline released by the attorney general's office. Inside The Horrifying Mystery Of The Bear Brook Murders. She had brought her two daughters and a man she identified as Rasmussen to hermothers house in La Puente, California. Their hard work, along with that of a dogged researcher, ultimately unraveled a long trail of missing and murdered women and children all leading back, police say, to a serial killer. Authorities on Thursday revealed that they had identified three of the four victims in the chilling cold case known as the Bear Brook murders . Police believe Honeychurch fled to New Hampshire with Rasmussen, who at that point had begun using the name "Bob Evans." About a year later, Heath, who lives in Connecticut, was listening to a New Hampshire Public Radio podcast about the Bear Brook murders when information about the victims reminded her again of the . He died in prison in 2010 after being convicted of her 2002 murder. Although the Allenstown barrels were discovered during his lifetime, Rasmussen was not named as the culprit until 2017, when DNA profiling connected him to the crime. Honeychurchs youngest daughter, Sarah, was laid to rest in Connecticut, near her fathers family. "[37], On June 6, 2019, New Hampshire investigators held a press conference regarding the case and revealed the identities of three of the victims. The refrigerator had been dumped in a canal in San Joaquin County, California. Jesse Morgan, who grew up in a small trailer park surrounded by Bear Brook, was 11 when he and his friends stumbled upon the first barrel. The only evidence against him? One of the victims had been his daughter. Subsequent investigations led to Honeychurch and her daughters being identified as three of the four victims found in Allenstown; the identity of the fourth victim, his daughter, remains unknown. First thing we need to do is find out who she is, because without knowing who she is, it's pretty hard to track back and find out where she stayed and who her relatives were and who she associated with, he said. We have never stopped looking, he said. Police officials announced on May 6 that three bodies two discovered in 1985 and a third discovered in 2000 were identified asMarlyse Elizabeth Honeychurch, 24, and her two daughters, Marie Elizabeth Vaughn, 6, and Sarah Lynn McWaters, 1. A chameleon is revealed. [15] In attendance were members of Honeychurch's family and Rasmussen's daughter from his first marriage. The woman, the oldest child and the youngest child . We're here today to bury my sister and my nieces, Salamon said at Honeychurch and Maries funeral. Investigators said genealogy research. In 2016, this child was determined to be Rasmussens biological daughter. Denise Beaudin has never been located. 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. Homicide", "Four Unidentified Allenstown Homicide Victims", "Allenstown, NH murder victims identified after nearly 40 years", "New rendering released for unidentified girl found in barrel in Allenstown", Original digital reconstruction of middle child, "3 bodies hidden in barrels remained unidentified for decades. She said that she did but "they died eating grass mushrooms when they were out camping". By 1981, Evans was romantically linked to a woman namedDenise Beaudin who also went missing with her daughter shortly thereafter. And Denise only had one daughter, whom she had named Dawn. From the creators of the hit podcast Bear Brook comes A True Crime Story. [3] Moon began covering the cold case in 2015, and later started the podcast. [6], Rasmussen lived in a number of states including Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Virginia, Texas, Ohio, Oregon, Hawaii and California. Never contacted nobody. One of the hunters looked inside the open barrel and saw a skull. Want to make sure that NHPR continues creating projects like Bear Brook? Rasmussen has been linked to five horrific murders and authorities fear there are more. Two brothers were hunting in Bear Brook State Park on the 10th of November 1985. Investigative reporter Billy Jensen, who wrote about Rasmussen in his upcoming book Chase Darkness With Me," told Oxygen Digital Correspondent Stephanie Gomulka at CrimeCon 2019he thinks Rasmussen is responsible for killing other people, too. [15], Rasmussen lived a mile and a half away from 14-year-old Laureen Rahn when she disappeared from Manchester, New Hampshire, in April 1980. 3, 2023 at 9:04 AM PST | Updated: 20 minutes ago. [9][17], The adult, later identified as Honeychurch, was determined to be Caucasian with possible Native American ancestry. [6], In 2019, the three biologically related females were identified as a mother, Marlyse Elizabeth Honeychurch, and her two daughters (of different biological fathers) Marie Elizabeth Vaughn and Sarah Lynn McWaters, last seen in November 1978. Rasmussen was born on December 23, 1943,[1] in Denver, Colorado. 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 the last story, the one that would tie them all together: the disappearance of a woman named Denise Beaudin from Manchester, New Hampshire. Beaudin and Dawn, an infant at the time, had gone missing from their home in Manchester, New Hampshire just after Thanksgiving in 1983. From left: Marlyse Honeychurch, Marie Elizabeth Vaughn, a still unidentified victim, and Sarah McWaters. DNA proved this child was fathered by Terry Peder Rasmussen. The case stumped investigators for years: four bodies, found dismembered, skeletonized, wrapped in plastic bags, and stuffed in two 55-gallon steel drums in the Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown, New Hampshire. [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. 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. It well could be Terry. Beaudin's body has never been found and she is currently presumed dead, according to The Concord Monitor. In the early days of the investigation, authorities publicized the case in the United States and some parts of Canada. It was determined that they had been killed sometime between 1977 and 1985. Marie Vaughn was last seen with her mother and sister at a Thanksgiving gathering in 1978. Huber says the investigation is stalled because she is still unidentified. Instead, they focus on complete strangers. [4] The identities of the middle child, who Rasmussen fathered, and her mother remain unknown. This is the twisted story of the Bear Brook Murders. Jensen told Gomulka at CrimeCon that Rasmussen put Jun's body in a 75-pound pile of kitty litter before he was able to dispose of her. The hunter had been stalking deer on a property adjacent to New Hampshire's Bear Brook State Park. Beaudin's daughter was abducted by Rasmussen and taken to California, where he raised her under the pseudonym "Gordon Jensen". Honeychurch was last seen at her mothers house in La Puente, California, around Thanksgiving in 1978. His own taped confession. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! and I went, This can't be, Rose said of learning her friend was gone. She was previously known as San Joaquin Jane Doe and the Lady in the Fridge.[8][19]. [4][14] The two were buried in an Allenstown cemetery with a tombstone that read: "Here lies the mortal remains known only to God of a woman aged 23-33 and a girl child aged 8-10. Now we need to identify and try to find all of his victims.. For more on the case and to see a timeline of Sharon's last day, visit bearbrookpodcast.com. These are the stories of the women and children he is suspected of killing, one he confessed to murdering and those whose lives he changed forever: Honeychurch, who was born in Connecticut in 1954, was married twice and had a daughter with each husband. 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. Bear Brook is an American true crime podcast covering the Bear Brook murders. He was also confirmed, via DNA, to be the father of a 2-to-4-year-old girl who was one of the Bear Brook victims. It just made me angry and curious.. 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. November 7, 2018 The case that was solved in reverse leaves many questions unanswered. With the confirmation, police believe theycan officially implicate serial killerTerry Peder Rasmussen, who had passed away while in prison in 2010, in their deaths. Rebekah Becky Heath, the researcher and libararian who obsessively worked to discover Rasmussens victims identities. [6] He was paroled in 1990 and subsequently absconded. The bodies could not be identified at the time, leading the case to go cold. From the creators of the hit podcast Bear Brook comes A True Crime Story. In June 2013, new versions of the victims' facial reconstructions were created by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. This new discovery didnt offer any immediate clues as to who the killer had been, though. 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. [30] The daughter is keeping her name private. If you have any information about these missing cases or others, please call the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or visit its website at www.missingkids.org. Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty ImagesRebekah Becky Heath, the researcher and libararian who obsessively worked to discover Rasmussens victims identities. And we watched the barrel fall on its side, Morgan said. All the same guy., Watch the full story on "20/20" FRIDAY at 9 p.m. A child is abandoned. Just disappeared.. He later abandoned that child, whom he had pretended to father and called Lisa, in a trailer park. To this day, she has yet to be identified. Came to a dead end. [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. Investigators knew who their killer was, but they still had no clue who the victims were. He was just a really, really bad man, one of the worst, Jensen said. Advanced forensic testing showed the 2-to-4-year-old girl (since identified as Rasmussen's daughter) probably spent most of her childhood in either the upper Northeast or upper Midwest, perhaps Wisconsin. The identity of the fourth victim still remains a mystery. His own taped confession. It wasnt Rasmussens first time in prison, however hed just been using a different name. Since 2017, he has been named as a suspect in several other crimes. [13], Police released a video of a police interview of Evans in June 2017 in hopes of finding his true identity. [9] Beaudin was not reported missing at the time as her family believed she left town due to financial reasons. Who could believe him for one second?, Rose said she told him: I want Eunsoon, not you, I want Eunsoon to tell me that she's done with our relationship or I'm going to get the sheriff involved.. [40], Sarah's younger half brother, who had never met her, created a post in 1999 on the Ancestry.com website in efforts to locate her. Huber said the body of a woman was found in a state of advanced decomposition and police couldnt discern the womans facial features. She left the home after a trivial argument with her mother and was never seen alive again. Rasmussen was convicted and sentenced for the murder in 2002 of his then-wife, Eunsoon Jun; he died in prison in 2010. Her age at the time of death was estimated to be 23 to 33. For any tips concerning Terry Rasmussen and any unknown victims, please contact please contact Deputy Peter Headley with San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department at pheadley@sbcsd.org or the New Hampshire State Police Cold Case Unit (603)223-3648, ColdCaseUnit@dos.nh.gov, 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Wikimedia CommonsFrom left: Marlyse Honeychurch, Marie Elizabeth Vaughn, a still unidentified victim, and Sarah McWaters. An estranged cousin goes missing. Rasmussen fell off the radar after that but resurfaced in California under a different name in 2002 when police found adismembered body in his basement. Rasmussen had been convicted of the murder of aromantic partner in 2003. He smoked constantly, Juns friend, Renee Rose, told 20/20. Larry would just grab and gobble up everything on the table and belch and eat more, and then he'd go sit on the couch.. an investigative journalist and the author of the book "Chase Darkness With Me." . Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! New methods of inquiry are used to crack other cold cases. In the show's second season, host Jason Moon returns with a new, even more complex story: In 1989, New Hampshire police . Came to a dead end, Salamon said. When Lisa was taken into protective custody in 1986, police asked her if she had any siblings. But as it turned out, that person had been several different people throughout his life. Thanks for your support. 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. Sarah L. McWaters was 11 months old when she was last seen with her mother and sister around Thanksgiving of 1978. On June 6, 2019, the New Hampshire Attorney General's office revealed that investigators had successfully identified three of the four Bear Brook murders victims. Lisa was born Dawn Beaudin in 1981, Armand Beaudin said. After his release, he assumed the name "Larry Vanner" and began living with chemist Eunsoon Jun in 2001. He abandoned her in 1986 and was subsequently imprisoned on child abandonment charges. New Hampshire authorities have referred to her as the middle child because of how her suspected age compares to the other two children found in the barrels, but DNA tests confirmed she is not related to Sarah and Marie, nor their mother. [39] By October 1978, Sarah's father was seeing another woman and Sarah was presumably in the care of her mother. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! The identities of Honeychurch and her two children were not known until they were confirmed by DNA profiling in 2019. [3] He married in 1969, had four children and lived with his family in Phoenix and Redwood City, California. [1] [2] The podcast is hosted by Jason Moon and was released through New Hampshire Public Radio. Heath continued researching, messaging some of the family members who had been around at the time when another name came up: Terry Rasmussen. By 2017, Bob Evans was dead, and investigators believed he had killed Denise Beaudin after they left New Hampshire. [11] Rasmussen was arrested under another alias, Gerry Mockerman, in 1988 for driving a stolen vehicle. [9][14] Daneault had been living on the same street as Rasmussen. After reading about the long journey to identify the Chameleon Killers victims, read about the Green River Killer, Gary Ridgway. The conclusion was made after family members of the victims helped with the process ofDNA testing andgenetic genealogy.