DNA Breakthrough IDs Victim in Decades-Old Serial Killer Case

Authorities in New Hampshire have identified the last unknown victim in a notorious cold case that has captivated investigators for nearly four decades.

The victim, found dead in Bear Brook State Park in 2000, has been identified as Rea Rasmussen, the young daughter of serial killer Terry Peder Rasmussen. The breakthrough came through advanced DNA analysis conducted by the DNA Doe Project, which compiled a family tree containing roughly 25,000 names to trace the girl’s identity.

Newsweek reached out to the New Hampshire State Police Department and DNA Doe Project via email on Monday for comment.

Why It Matters

This case represents a landmark achievement in forensic science and cold case investigation techniques.

The Bear Brook murders have become a defining example of how genetic genealogy can solve decades-old mysteries, potentially providing closure to families and advancing justice in similar unsolved cases nationwide.

The identification closes a significant chapter in one of the first major cases to utilize genetic genealogy in criminal investigations, though authorities say their work continues as they search for additional victims.

What Is the DNA Doe Project?

The DNA Doe Project was founded in 2017 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to identifying John and Jane Does using investigative genetic genealogy.

The organization achieved its first breakthrough on March 5, 2018, identifying Robert Ivan Nichols, followed by the historic identification of “Buckskin Girl” as Marcia L. King in April 2018. This marked the first time the public learned about the power of investigative genetic genealogy to solve cold case identifications.

The organization works with law enforcement agencies nationwide, using volunteer investigative genetic genealogists to build extensive family trees and trace DNA matches. In Rea Rasmussen’s case, the process took 18 months and required building genealogical connections back to ancestors born in the 1780s.

What To Know

The complex investigation began in 1985 when a hunter discovered two bodies in a barrel at Bear Brook State Park.

A second barrel found in 2000 contained two additional victims. All four had been killed in the late 1970s or early 1980s. By 2019, investigators had identified three victims and determined through DNA analysis that Terry Rasmussen was the killer and father of the unidentified “middle child.”

Rasmussen, who used multiple aliases including Bob Evans, Curtis Kimball, and Gordon Jenson, targeted vulnerable women across multiple states. He died in prison in 2010 after being convicted of killing his girlfriend Amanda Lynn Schumann Deza in California.

Investigators believe he specifically chose victims he could isolate from their families to avoid missing person reports.

The DNA Doe Project traced descendants of an 18th-century couple to identify Rea’s mother as Pepper Reed, who disappeared in the late 1970s and remains missing. Authorities are also seeking information about Denise Beaudin, another suspected victim who vanished with her infant daughter in 1981.

What People Are Saying

Senior Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Agati said at a news conference: “Today, we’re no longer frustrated. We can find ourselves, for once—just today—fulfilled, because we have that name, and it feels like a promise kept.”

New Hampshire State Police Detective Sergeant Christopher Elphick told reporters: “It’s highly unlikely that he stopped doing what he was doing. It’s certainly possible we’re going to make some more discoveries, not just about the whereabouts of Pepper Reed and Denise Beaudin, but additional victims as well.”

Pepper Reed’s Family released a statement, in part: “First and foremost, we want to express that Pepper is deeply loved and missed every single day. Though we did not have an opportunity to meet Rea, she is cherished just as much in our hearts.”