Alaskan authorities have identified a woman killed by the state’s most notorious serial killer—nearly 40 years after her murder. Alaska State Troopers said Robin Pelkey, a 19-year-old from Colorado, was one of the 17 women killed by Robert Hansen in his spree of crimes. He later confessed to the murders and identified the bodies’ locations during a helicopter tour. The body had been found near the state’s Horseshoe Lake in 1984, garnering Pelkey the moniker “Horseshoe Harriet.”
Pelkey was identified through genealogical research, allowing scientists to create a DNA profile of her that matched a family member in Arkansas. Police hope to utilize the same technique for the last remaining unidentified body, who they believe is Hansen’s first victim, known as Eklutna Annie. “So that’s a major priority for the state troopers, for law enforcement in our state is, not only to hold accountable those who victimize Alaskans, but also to bring closure to families of victims across the state,” Troopers spokesman Austin McDonald told KTOO.
Read it at KTOO
