🇺🇸 United StatesThe Bear Brook Murders
The Story
In 1985 and 2000, four female victims were found in metal barrels in Bear Brook State Park, New Hampshire. DNA genealogy identified them in 2019 as members of the Allenstown family. Serial killer Terry Peder Rasmussen was linked as the likely killer, but he died in prison in 2010 without confessing.
Images
Timeline
A barrel containing two bodies is found in Bear Brook State Park.
A second barrel with two more bodies is discovered nearby.
Genetic genealogy identifies three victims and links Rasmussen.
Known Evidence
How well-documented and physically verified the case evidence is.
- Four victims in two barrels across 15 years in the same park.
- 2019 genetic genealogy identifying three victims as mother and two daughters.
- DNA linking Terry Peder Rasmussen to the site and one victim.
- Rasmussen's death in 2010 before full confession or trial.
Unresolved
What We Still Don't Know
- The identity of the fourth victim (Marlyse Elizabeth Honeychurch's daughter).
- Whether Rasmussen acted alone in all four deaths.
- The full timeline of the family's disappearance from California.
Hypotheses
Theories
Ranked by plausibility — highest first.
Terry Peder Rasmussen as Sole Killer
Rasmussen killed the family and stored bodies in barrels over years.
Additional Accomplice
Rasmussen had help disposing of bodies or killing the fourth unidentified victim.
Nearby on the map