He Was Hired to Cremate a Beloved Grandmother. Instead, Boy Scouts Hiking Made a Horrifying Discovery

A former funeral director has been sentenced to 90 days in prison for his involvement in the gruesome decapitation and concealment of an elderly woman’s remains, a crime that took place over two decades ago. Benjamin Hanson, 57, received his sentence earlier this week in a Wisconsin court after pleading guilty to charges related to the concealment of a corpse.

The unsettling case revolves around 92-year-old Alyce Peterson, whose skull was discovered in a wooded area by a group of Boy Scouts on 19 October 2002. Peterson had been officially declared missing, but it was not until 2022 that her identity was confirmed through DNA analysis carried out by the DNA Doe Project, a non-profit organisation focused on solving cold cases.

At the time of the incident, Hanson was operating as the funeral director at Simonet Funeral Home in Stillwater, Minnesota, which is located near the Wisconsin border. Eyewitness accounts from former colleagues indicated that Hanson exhibited concerning behaviour in the summer of 2001, shortly before Peterson’s death. Reports suggested that he underwent mental health treatment and was subsequently dismissed from his position due to his erratic conduct.

Details surrounding the case revealed that the motivations behind the heinous act remained unclear until Hanson’s sentencing. During the proceedings, Judge Scott Nordstrand shared information from a pre-sentencing report that depicted Hanson as being “fixated” on decapitation. According to court documents, Hanson disclosed to a probation officer that he committed the act out of a curiosity to feel something in that moment, reflecting on the brutality and inhumanity of his actions. He described the experience as “heinous” and “horrific,” emphasising the weight of his realisation.

The court heard that following the acquisition of Peterson’s body from a hospital, Hanson used a handsaw to sever her head after placing her in the back of his vehicle. Initially, he buried the head at Fairview Cemetery in Stillwater, before later exhuming it and disposing of it in a nearby ravine, hoping it would remain undiscovered.

This heart-wrenching case took more than two decades to unravel, as forensic tests conducted on the remains yielded no identifying results for many years. It was only through the collaborative efforts of the St. Croix Sheriff’s Office and the DNA Doe Project that Peterson’s identity was finally confirmed in early 2022.

Within the courtroom, Amanda, a representative from Peterson’s family, provided a moving statement that described her aunt as a steadfast presence in their lives, affectionately known as “Mimi”. The family remembered her as “our rock,” noting the significant impact she had on their lives since she had taken in eight children after their mother’s death in 1954.

In addition to his prison sentence, Hanson has been permanently barred from working in any capacity connected to the funeral industry, a decision deemed necessary given the gravity of his actions. The court’s decision reflects societal sentiments about protecting families and individuals from similar potential violations of trust and respect in what is almost certainly one of the most sensitive realms of community service.

As Hanson begins serving his sentence, this case serves as a chilling reminder of the darker aspects of human behaviour, leaving behind a legacy of pain for the family of Alyce Peterson and raising ongoing questions regarding mental health in the profession of caregiving.