Steal, Stealing Away
While Galyan and Flothe were busy with Robert Hansen, the search parties continued apace. Those searches were, as we have written elsewhere (see: Butcher, Baker), a long slog. Even with that, there were surprises. One of them was what they were not finding: The alleged murder weapon. What they quickly found instead was a treasure trove of stolen property. Stolen property for which, in several cases, they also had a victim report. Ready? Here we go.
Born to Steal
One look in Hansen’s house revealed a treasure trove of outright theft and burglary. Lots of weapons, of course. And then mundane things like chainsaws. A generator. A C.B. radio. A tape-player. Can you say “kleptomania?”
Sequence of Events Leading to Arrest of Robert C. Hansen:
The following case reports and stolen property lists were available at the HANSEN residence during the search for purposes of reference during which time the following evidence was seized in plain view:
VICTIM: JOHN PACE A.S.T. Case B83-5990
Item #104, Remington 552 . 22 S/N 1915723, Row 9 Attic.
Item #113, G.E. C.B. Radio model 3-5000 S/N unknown, Garage, behind chair parts, N.W. corner with #114.
Item #114, G.E. Radio model 3-5000 S/N unknown, Garage, behind chair parts, N.W. corner with #113.
Item #118, Sears Battery Charger S/N unknown, Garage, on work bench, N end.
Item #115, Propane Cylinder, 40 lb., white, Garage, by loading bench.
Item # 19, Battery, Pay-N Pak 12 volt, no S/N, Buick trunk.
Item #119, Black Bear Hide, staple holes in back, Sheep skin, Beaver hide, Attic, east of chimney.
Item #110, Radio-Tape Player, Sears, S/N, Top of table, family room.
Item #111, Ted Williams shotgun .20 ga. S/N unknown, living room closet.
Item #121, McCullough Generator 2kw yellow and black, shed behind house.
Victim: Ward Hulbert A.S.T. Case B83-5176
Item #116, Homelite chain saw, found in shed behind house.
Victim: Mark C. Rowland A.S.T. Case B83-7749
Item #117, Homelite chain saw, found in shed behind house.
Steal From Himself?
Yes. Absolutely yes. Hansen snuck away his treasured hunting trophies — insured for thousands of dollars — and stored them “offsite.” He then reported a burglary… And collected on the insurance money. Get this — he bought an airplane and leased a new bakery space with the proceeds. The Crime Stoppers tip, it turns out, came from none other than Cindy Paulson. Five hours chained in a basement will uncover many a hidden secret.
BURGLARY HANSEN RESIDENCE A.P.D. CASE 81-1290
Suspected Insurance Fraud
Item #1, Bear rug. family room between table and wall
Item #93, Sheep head, wall of family room.
Item #94, Wolverine hide, wall of family room.
Item #95, Grizzly hide, nail on wall in corner of family room.
Item #98, Beaver hide, mounted on wall of family room.
Item #99, Walrus tusks, wall of family room.
The following three (3) [sic] weapons were reported as stolen when serial numbers were entered into NCIC. Weapons subsequently seized:
Pendleton, Oregon CASE #74-4519
Item #84, Browning .22 S/N 100586UB, located loading bench in garage, third drawer down, left set of drawers.
Item #166, Ruger .270 single shot S/N 7909, from John Sumrall (2-6-84) [Handwritten Entry]
Victim: Fred Slehoffer, A.S.T. Case C75-4611
Item # 101, Ruger, .243 S/N 70-52109, found top shelf in family room.
Victim: Great Northern Guns, A.P.D. Case #82-7808
Item # 100, Savage rifle S/N 1149848, found top shelf of hidden compartment in family room.
Victim: Roger R. Patch, A.S.T. Case B83-5412
Item #103, Winchester 12 ga. shotgun serial number L987311, found in attic, row 9 north.
Handgun Bonanza
The following handguns were seized from the HANSEN residence search and logged under I83-65851:
Item #83, Browning .22 Semi-Auto serial #100586U8, from gun reloading cabinet garage. Stolen Pendleton, Oregon.
Item #86, Colt Match .22 Semi-Auto pistol serial #014372-5, from gun reloading cabinet garage.
Item #87, Colt Python .357 caliber revolver with holster, serial #0164E, from gun reloading cabinet garage.
Item #105, Thompson Contender 7mm single shot pistol with scope serial #198462, from attic found with Mini-14 and stolen weapons.
The following handgun was seized from HANSEN's Supercub and logged under I83-65857
Item #9, Colt Semi-Auto .22 caliber pistol serial #131681 from storage compartment behind pilot seat.
Source: Sgt. Glenn Flothe, Sequence of Events Leading to Arrest of Robert C. Hansen, January 31, 1984
The Search for Why
In his confession, Robert Hansen admitted that he got a “sexual type thrill” when he managed to steal something and get away with it. Here’s the exact quote:
I damn near ejaculate in my pants if I could walk into a store and take something and get out the dang door with it and not pay for it.
Robert Hansen’s Confession
Need we say more?
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