{"id":33973,"date":"2026-10-26T10:09:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T17:09:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/butcherbaker\/wordpress\/?p=33973"},"modified":"2026-10-26T10:09:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T17:09:23","slug":"excerpts-the-cindy-paulson-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/butcherbaker\/wordpress\/2026\/10\/26\/excerpts-the-cindy-paulson-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Excerpts: The Cindy Paulson Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Butcher Baker Promo w\/ Cindy Paulson<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Cindy Paulson survived to tell the tale of serial killer Robert Hansen. She was key to bringing him to justice, but that was long ago. Since then, her life has taken her many places, including a stellar appearance on People Magazine Investigates<\/a>. In this excerpt, drawn from my ongoing interviews with this remarkable woman, she takes us behind the scenes at Robert Hansen’s sentencing on kidnapping, rape and murder charges. Not surprisingly, Hansen admitted to killing only four women. Their names: Sherry Morrow. Paula Goulding. Joanna Messina. Eklutna Annie. And, yes, there were more. Cindy almost joined them.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Cindy\"
Cindy Paulson<\/strong>
(Courtesy People Magazine Investigates & Finch Productions)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

NOTE<\/strong>: This segment is being brought to you by Open Road Media<\/a>, the stellar publisher of Butcher, Baker<\/a>. Scroll down for some great offers! <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"\/
Boney Courthouse, Anchorage<\/strong>
(Site of Robert Hansen Sentencing; photo copyright Leland E. Hale)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Robert Hansen’s Sentencing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

February 27, 1984<\/em><\/strong>
Superior Court for the State of Alaska, Third Judicial District, Anchorage, Alaska<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today is the day. The day Robert C. Hansen will finally be sentenced for murder, kidnapping and rape. My kidnapping. My rape. The cops tell me I don\u2019t have to be there, but you know what? I want to see that motherf….r confess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I\u2019m here. I arrive at the downtown courthouse in a new Chrysler New Yorker<\/a>, gliding smooth as silk past the neighborhoods of Anchorage. The woman at the wheel, the one with the local Roto-Rooter franchise, has taken good care of me. I\u2019m wearing a borrowed white shirt and a blue blazer. I\u2019m in shape. Clean. Sober. There\u2019s meat on my bones. Weight back where it should be. The magical nights of her neighborhood, with its snow angels and icicle rainbows, are in the rear-view mirror.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"\/
Alaska Native art glass,<\/strong> Boney Courthouse
(photo copyright Leland E. Hale)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In a blur, we\u2019re at the downtown courthouse. There\u2019s cops everywhere. There are totem poles, Eskimo sculptures and carved wooden doors, too. But I don\u2019t see them. I\u2019m blind in my emotion. Wandering the hallways, lost in the rush to see this man served justice, I\u2019m pointed to the Third Floor. Elevator up. Make the turn. There, I finally spot the doors. There\u2019s more cops; this must be the place. The guards stop me, check my name, pry the doors\u2026 And then I pause\u2026 Part of me doesn\u2019t want to go all the way, doesn\u2019t want to be at this parade: I’m trying to hold it all in. Then I feel the anger inside me \u2013 it must be Felicia talking, because she says, \u201cget in there.\u201d She tells me I have to. \u201cYou\u2019ve come this far and nothing\u2019s going to stop you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Felicia is the person I became after Hansen. I had to become another person, because Cindy was all bad memories. Felicia was the new someone. She could read the room \u2013 any room. She was the one who could see a person and know if that person was right, wrong or indifferent. The person who had that sixth sense. I didn't have that before, you know\u2026 After Hansen I had to be extra tuned in.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Because part of me can’t handle the memories. The fear of death, you know?<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
\"Boney
Entry Foyer<\/strong> Boney Courthouse
(photo copyright Leland E. Hale)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Where Justice Awaits<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Anyway, I get to the courtroom, ok? Even though I know what I\u2019m supposed to do, I\u2019m stalled because I don\u2019t see a seat. The place is packed. And it\u2019s small, smaller than I expected. What I remember are the doors. Thick. Heavy. You walk in, there’s rows of benches: a row to the left, a row to the right. In the center of the room there’s the prosecution table and the defense table. The judge is in the corner, sitting above it all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I take a few steps, but I just freeze there, because\u2026 Because I need to find the Exit sign. I can\u2019t go in until I know how to escape. I\u2019ve been that way ever since I ran from him. Ever since I got away. I\u2019m skittish, like a wild animal. I glance toward the judge\u2019s bench. It\u2019s no man\u2019s land. I look right. See another bailiff; that calms me a bit. Then, just beyond her, there\u2019s the familiar red sign. EXIT. My exit. That\u2019s where I want to be.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"
Robert Hansen (center)<\/strong> Shielding His Face
(copyright Anchorage Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
Face to Face With Hansen<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
I baby-step into the courtroom. And then freeze again. It\u2019s a moment where I\u2019m stuck on my personal pause button; everyone is talking, but it\u2019s a whisper. Mouths are moving but everything\u2019s in slow motion. I give a quick glance at the families of Robert Hansen\u2019s victims, sitting in what looks like bleacher seats.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
And when I walked into the courtroom, I could feel their eyes on me, but in my soul I could feel the girls were with me. You know, every one of them was inside of me. Looking at him and you know, I could feel them look at their family and say we finally get our day, you know, and their family, they just kind of looked at me like they just... like they looked through me to see their... their loved one. You know what I mean? And it was a really weird experience because I looked at each one of them in the eye, but I didn't see them. <\/pre>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n