{"id":32045,"date":"2025-04-30T10:41:34","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T17:41:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/butcherbaker\/wordpress\/?p=32045"},"modified":"2025-04-30T10:41:35","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T17:41:35","slug":"part-five-hammer-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/butcherbaker\/wordpress\/2025\/04\/30\/part-five-hammer-down\/","title":{"rendered":"Part Five: Hammer Down"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One Measly Shell Casing <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Hansen’s forthright denial of shooting Sherry Morrow up on the Knik River was the turning point in this game of cat and mouse. And in that moment, the focus suddenly shifted. Sgt. Glenn Flothe now took the lead. He’d been on the case continuously since September of ’83, when he was first assigned to assist what was then a flagging investigation. By now, Glenn Flothe knew the facts of Robert Hansen inside out. He was bringing the hammer down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"hammer\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Man With A Hammer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Flothe had now assumed — in his even-handed, understated way — a confrontational footing. It was all about a single shell casing, from a .223 rifle, found in the gravel bed that made Sherry Morrow’s grave. Flothe now had the hammer. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"hammer\"
Sherry Morrow’s gravesite, Knik River<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

“How do you explain,” Flothe asked, “the shell casing from your weapon at the gravesite? We have a team of Investigators at your residence right now with a search warrant and we’re just determined to ask why, we are asking why, something went terribly wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

H: You guys are telling me that I shot this person?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

F: That’s correct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

H: Well, you’re wrong, I didn’t shoot anybody, I would not hurt anybody, that’s true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

F: Well, how do you explain the circumstances then, you’ve explained some of these circumstances, how do you explain these circumstances? It’s my understanding that you’ve been hunting out in that area before, Eklutna River for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Oh, yeah, I’ve been going over to Eklutna River for years… I probably have shell casings all, halfway across Alaska.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert Hansen, October 27, 1983<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Hammer Strikes Again<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Flothe’s voice stayed low, calm and unwavering. Every answer or half answer Robert Hansen gave, Flothe followed with a detailed disquisition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Well, then how is it that we find a shell casing out in the Eklutna area from one of your weapons? Do you know what the F.B.I. Laboratory does, I’m sure that’s been explained to you, how they make comparisons, how they make matches. For every shell casing [at] the Knik River found on her gravesite from your weapon, from my understanding we know for a fact that you’ve been out there hunting before. Now is there a correlation between a shell casing being there and you hunting, or the correlation between the mere fact that you did not do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sgt. Glenn Flothe, October 27, 1983<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Hansen stayed steadfast in his denials. With, of course, some caveats. He knew enough not to lie about certain things. When Flothe asked him to explain the .223 shell casing — the hammer coming down again — Hansen admitted he had such a weapon. “I have a two,” he stammered, “two ah twenty three.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FLOTHE: Where’s that one at?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HANSEN: Home someplace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, yeah, the troopers were thinking. We’re looking for that rifle right now as we speak. Hansen had to know that too. Even with that presumed foreknowledge, Hansen didn’t waver. This ruse had, after all, worked before. Had worked every time. Deny, deny, deny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"hammer\"\/
Knik River map showing where the Morrow and Goulding bodies were found<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

No Rest<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

But the hammer kept striking, a muffled tone that gave the man in the hot seat no rest. Flothe asked about Hansen’s airplane. Yes, the accused said, I had my airplane out there this summer. That alone was a major revelation, whether Hansen knew it or not. Troopers had looked at every man accused of roughing up prostitutes, every man who’d been corralled for violent behavior with the street girls of Anchorage. Among the eighteen or so offenders, only one of them owned an airplane. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But like a dog on a bone, Flothe quickly returned to the evidence:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"hammer\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Looking back on that interview, Glenn Flothe is his usual insightful self. This is what he told me when I interviewed him on May 11, 1985, only months after Robert Hansen confessed to the whole damn thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sgt. Glenn Flothe on Hansen Interview <\/h4>\n\n\n
\n
\"Sgt.<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

“I think the interview Darrell and I did when we arrested him prior to making his confession \u2013 his arrogance was there, but it was more along the lines of “you\u2019ve got the wrong guy. I don\u2019t know what you\u2019re talking about,” sort of \u2013 he was telling us the same story he told everybody else…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Except this time he\u2019s got a little problem because he doesn\u2019t even want — you see before he could say, \u2018Well, yeah, I was with that prostitute \u2013- but that fuckin\u2019 shit, she wanted more money and I threw her ass outta the camper.\u2019 Now what is she doing? She\u2019s putting some heat on me \u2013- that\u2019s bullshit \u2013- she got what she deserved — and the cops would buy that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“But how he\u2019s got a problem because we got a dead<\/em> prostitute out there that\u2019s been shot and he can\u2019t simply say, \u2018yeah, I was with her that night and the last time I saw her I dropped her off and 4th<\/sup> and B’ \u2013 \u2018cause he\u2019s smart enough to realize that now he can\u2019t say that -\u2013 \u2018cause now you\u2019re talking murder, you\u2019re talking heavy duty stuff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou dropped her off at 4th<\/sup> and B? Bullshit. You killed her.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So he\u2019s not gonna associate himself at all with any of the dead ones, not at all. He\u2019s smart enough to realize that.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now A Word From Our Sponsor<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As you no doubt know by now, it’s sales of Butcher, Baker<\/a> that keep this enterprise humming. I am very fortunate to have Open Road Media fulfill that role. That’s because, in addition to offering Butcher, Baker in multiple formats, they also periodically offer my work on discount. That’s an “everybody wins” proposition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their latest offering swings across Canada and the U.S. Wow. I suddenly feel like the 51st State. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hale<\/td>		ORM\/Early Bird<\/td>CA<\/td>May 3, 2025<\/td>May 3, 2025<\/td>$1.99<\/td><\/tr>
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Hale<\/td>		ORM\/Early Bird<\/td>GB<\/td>May 3, 2025<\/td>May 3, 2025<\/td>$1.99<\/td><\/tr>
Butcher, Baker<\/td>Gilmour\/
Hale<\/td>		ORM\/Early Bird<\/td>US<\/td>May 3, 2025<\/td>May 3, 2025<\/td>$1.99<\/td><\/tr><\/thead><\/table>
May 2025 Open Road Promo<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Butcher Baker Discounts <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

So with that little sales pitch out of the way… Grab the thankfulness. Get the book. Butcher, Baker<\/em>, feels like a friend or, at least, a great way to celebrate Spring flowers. Head on over to one of the fine sites below and place your order. You will never regret it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You Can Subscribe to Multiple Newsletters<\/strong>!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Purchase Butcher, Baker<\/a><\/strong> (click “Subscribe Now” above for the discount)!<\/p>\n\n\n

Copyright 2024. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n

You can order my latest book, “What Happened In Craig<\/strong>,” HERE<\/strong><\/a> and HERE. <\/strong><\/a>True crime on Epicenter Press about Alaska\u2019s Worst Unsolved Mass Murder.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Craig\"<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One Measly Shell Casing Hansen’s forthright denial of shooting Sherry Morrow up on the Knik River was the turning point…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[592,9,603,15,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anchorage-1980s","category-butcher-baker","category-daryl-galyan","category-glenn-flothe","category-robert-hansen"],"yoast_head":"\nPart Five: Hammer Down - Butcher Baker<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With Robert Hansen stuck at Trooper Headquarters, the cops put the hammer down. 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