The Bear Brook Murders: Unraveling a Chilling Mystery

In the dense woods of Bear Brook State Park, Allenstown, New Hampshire, a hunter stumbled upon a grim discovery on November 10, 1985. Inside a rusted 55-gallon metal drum lay the bodies of an adult female and a young girl, both brutally murdered and wrapped in plastic. This shocking find would soon grow into one of the most perplexing murder cases in American history, known as the Bear Brook Murders or the Allenstown Four.

The Victims: A Family Lost

The initial discovery in 1985 was just the beginning. Fifteen years later, on May 9, 2000, another drum was found near the original site, containing the remains of two more young girls. All four victims had suffered the same fate—blunt force trauma—and were believed to have died between 1977 and 1981.

The identities of these victims remained a mystery for decades. It wasn't until 2019 that investigators identified the three related victims: Marlyse Elizabeth Honeychurch, born in 1954, and her daughters, Marie Elizabeth Vaughn, born in 1971, and Sarah Lynn McWaters, born in 1977. They had disappeared in November 1978. The fourth victim, a girl aged 2 to 4, was determined to be the biological daughter of Terry Peder Rasmussen, a notorious criminal. Her identity, however, still eludes investigators.

The Grim Discovery

The discovery of the bodies in Bear Brook State Park raised haunting questions. How had the second drum gone unnoticed for so long? Investigators speculated that its location outside the proximity of the initial crime scene contributed to the oversight. Autopsies confirmed that all four victims had met a violent end.

Forensic Examination

Forensic experts worked tirelessly to piece together the identities of the victims. The adult female, later identified as Marlyse Honeychurch, was a Caucasian woman with possible Native American ancestry, between 23 and 33 years old. Her daughters, Marie and Sarah, shared similar ethnic backgrounds, with light complexions and European-American features.

The fourth victim, Rasmussen's daughter, displayed a mix of Caucasian, Asian, African, and Native American heritage. Despite advanced DNA techniques, her mother's identity remains unknown. Investigators believe she spent most of her childhood in either the upper Northeast or Midwest. However, recent evidence suggests she may have originated from states like Arizona, Texas, California, or Oregon.

The Investigation Begins

In the early days, authorities struggled to identify the victims despite publicizing the case extensively across the United States and parts of Canada. The breakthrough came in 2015 when DNA profiling confirmed that Marlyse Honeychurch was the mother of Marie and Sarah. This revelation narrowed down the potential identities, but the victims' names remained elusive.

In 2014, mitochondrial DNA confirmed the maternal relationship between Honeychurch and her daughters. Further forensic analysis suggested they had lived together in the Northeastern United States for at least two weeks to three months before their deaths.

Terry Peder Rasmussen: The Chameleon Killer

A significant breakthrough came in 2017 when investigators named Terry Peder Rasmussen as the prime suspect. Known for his chameleon-like ability to assume different identities, Rasmussen was tied to multiple murders, including that of his girlfriend, Denise Beaudin, who vanished in 1981. He was already serving a sentence for the 2002 murder of his then-wife, Eunsoon Jun, when he died in prison in 2010.

Rasmussen's true identity was revealed through genetic genealogy, a groundbreaking investigative technique. Born in 1943, he hailed from Denver, Colorado, and led a life of deception, using at least five aliases across the country. His criminal activities spanned decades, with the Bear Brook victims adding to his grim legacy.

Identifying the Victims

The identification of the victims was a monumental task. In 2018, Rebekah Heath, a librarian and web sleuth, unearthed a critical clue on Ancestry.com. She discovered a post from Sarah's younger half-brother seeking his lost sister. This led Heath to connect Sarah and her family to the Bear Brook victims. Heath shared her findings with detective Peter Headley, which eventually led to the identification of Marlyse Honeychurch and her daughters.

In June 2019, New Hampshire investigators confirmed the identities of three of the victims. The revelation offered some closure to the families, who had waited for decades to learn the fate of their loved ones. Honeychurch and Vaughn were laid to rest in Allenstown in November 2019, while Sarah was interred in Connecticut near her father's family.

Continuing the Search

Despite these breakthroughs, the identity of Rasmussen's daughter remains a mystery. Advanced DNA testing confirmed her parentage, but her mother's identity and whereabouts are still unknown. Investigators continue to search for answers, releasing updated renderings of the child in hopes of generating new leads.

Media Coverage

The chilling tale of the Bear Brook Murders has captured public imagination, inspiring the first season of the true crime podcast, "Bear Brook," by New Hampshire Public Radio. The podcast delves into the complexities of the case and the relentless pursuit of justice for the victims.

Sources

For further reading and detailed references, visit the Wikipedia page on the Bear Brook murders.