S6 Ep.3: Robert C. Hansen vs. The World

If you enjoyed Mind of a Monster, we think you'll like the new season of Very Scary People: A Family to Fear. An intense custody battle turns deadly when Christine Belford’s ex-husband and his family become obsessed with controlling the couple’s three daughters. The family is willing to do anything including stalking, kidnapping, and even murder to get their way. Over eight episodes, host Donnie Wahlberg takes listeners down a dark and twisted journey, exploring how one family’s obsession became a mother’s worst nightmare. With exclusive interviews and audio, the story goes beyond the headlines of the sinister Matusiewicz family. Listen to Episode 1, The Takeover, and follow Very Scary People wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We bring the series to a close with a special episode dedicated to the story of Cindy Paulson, the 17-year-old sex worker who turned the entire Hansen case around. In 40 years, Cindy has never spoken in public about her experience. Now we fly to meet her for an exclusive interview. We talk about her childhood and what led her into sex work, we hear her side of Hansen’s attack and the police’s subsequent negligence. We learn how she began to trust Glenn Flothe, and where she disappeared to. We end on the impact these events had on her life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robert Hansen meets with the prosecution, and the true extent of his crimes becomes apparent, surprising even his defense lawyers. But he doesn't remember any of his victims' names. What follows is the painstaking recovery of bodies and the attempts to identify them. Dr. Michelle Ward revisits the story of Delynn Frey and tells of her family's heartache as the wait to identify her body stretches into years. Two other unidentified victims' stories take us to the present day, and the cold case investigators vow to give them back their names. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On a fall day in 1983, the police tear apart Robert Hansen’s home in search of evidence connecting him to the murders of two dancers, but all they’ve found is a few flight maps. In an interview room across town, Sergeant Glenn Flothe has his man in front of him, but he’s telling the same old stories. However, as the search turns and Flothe starts to build a concrete case, his key witness, 17-year-old sex worker Cindy Paulsen, disappears into the Anchorage nightlife scene. Hansen has slipped through their net countless times before. Will this be the last?  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1983, another woman’s body is found in the sand banks of the Knik River. The police can no longer deny there is a serial killer at work. Detective Glenn Flothe takes on the case at the Alaska State Troopers and realizes it is much bigger than he ever imagined. He painstakingly tracks down further survivors of the man terrorizing Anchorage, including former dancer Christy Hayes, who speaks publicly for the first time about her abduction and escape. Meanwhile, Flothe narrows in on his suspect as Detective Maxine Farrell arrives to aid the investigation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Superiors at the Anchorage Police Department shrug off sex worker Cindy Paulson’s accusations of rape and kidnapping. Still, Patrol Cop Gregg Baker thinks he knows who is responsible and will not let it lie. In this episode, Dr. Michelle Ward and Criminal Profiler Brent Turvey dive deep into the backstory of Gregg’s main suspect. What can his current life in Anchorage and his distant past in Pocahontas, Iowa, tell us about him and the likelihood that he is involved with the cases of the missing dancers? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Years pass, and more young women disappear from Anchorage’s notorious 4th Avenue strip. Dr. Michelle Ward delves into their unsettled backstories and learns that Anchorage may not be a safe place, but when you want to run away, Alaska is about the furthest place you can go. Then a young girl, just 17, is found handcuffed and bruised running down the street. Could this be related to Detective Maxine Farrell’s missing dancers? Dr. Michelle Ward uncovers audio interviews and looks into the botched police investigation that lets the attacker slip through their fingers.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Michelle Ward takes us to 1980s Alaska, into the swirl and chaos of the pipeline oil boom. For months, Detective Maxine Farrell’s been troubled by the list of missing dancers on her desk, but her superiors don’t want to know about it. Then, an off-duty cop makes a shocking discovery in the wilderness - a young woman’s body in a shallow grave. In this episode, Dr. Michelle Ward explores the underworld of Anchorage and its seedy 4th Avenue strip. She explores potential mafia connections and uncovers the dangers that dancers and sex workers face. Is there someone preying on their vulnerability? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1980s Alaska: a swirling, chaotic mix of oil workers, dancers, sex workers and old-school cops. On the seedy 4th Avenue strip in Anchorage, nicknamed the world's longest bar, women start to go missing, plucked from the street or the bars and never seen again. In this 7-part series, Dr. Michelle Ward investigates the case of one of the US's most prolific, but not widely known, serial killers. She'll talk to survivors, criminology experts and the police on the ground, uncovering audio tapes, police reports and old newspaper articles, all to reveal the killer's identity as it happened. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aileen is found guilty of the murder of her first victim. Despite her protestations of self-defence and numerous assessments deeming her mentally incompetent, she is sentenced to death. For the remaining five murders, she fires her legal team and hires a new lawyer, Steven Glazer. She pleads “no contest” further sealing her fate. Aileen’s best friend Dawn stays in close contact, her constant comfort, Aileen begins writing long letters to Dawn. Aileen is on death row for eight years before there is an attempt to appeal her sentences. It fails and in 2002 she is put to death aged 45.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.