True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

*Please be aware that the details in this post are very disturbing. As always, I have tried to be as sensitive as I can be whilst sharing the facts of the case. If you have any questions or comments about this post or any case that I have covered and would like to contact me in confidence, please do so at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com*

You would think that with Robert Hansen being one of the most terrifying and sadistic Serial Killers in American history, that he would be more widely known but surprisingly few have heard of him. Those who may be unfamiliar with his sickening crimes will never forget about him once you learn the horrors of what this monster did during his reign of terror, which reportedly lasted just over a decade (12 years to be exact). 

Those who have watched the 2013 movie 'The Frozen Ground' may have learned about him and decided to look him up online and found yourself on my blog, in which case...hello and welcome! I hope that some of the details that I share in this post will give you even more insight to how truly evil this man was, his background, his crimes and the aftermath. Other people who have joined me in this horrific story in this particular post (my regular readers) welcome back to you too. This is my first post of 2026 and to say I have begun this year on this blog, on a very dark note...is an understatement, but this is reality and these heartbreaking, disturbing stories need to be told, the victims remembered and the monsters put on full display for all to see for we must never forget the pain and suffering such evil individuals have caused. We also have to remind ourselves how fragile we truly are and as much as you can never predict what is around the corner, the best we can all do is try to keep ourselves as safe as possible. 

So with all that being said, let's get into the background and story of the monster nicknamed 'The Butcher Baker'

Robert Christian Boes Hansen was born in Estherville, Iowa (USA) on the 15th of February 1939. His father was a Danish Immigrant and baker who ran a successful bakery business which kept the family afloat. His upbringing was quite strict with a lot of focus on hard work, Robert would be under orders to help out in his father's business and that often meant very long hours. Robert's father taught him from scratch how to have a successful career as a skilled baker. His life at school was quite a difficult one, he struggled with social gatherings, was often described as a loner and had battled with low self-esteem due to a stammer which he was viciously mocked for. The more the other kids bullied him, the worse his stammer would get and he would feel powerless to stop it. To add to the difficulties he faced at school, his confidence with girls was also very low and he wouldn't know how to hold a conversation or behave around them, he appeared awkward, strange, and this would add to the bullying with girls laughing at him which he found even more difficult to deal with. He dreamed of a day that he could stand up to everyone, control his stammer and get some sort of revenge on all who wronged him. 

His experiences at school had a profound effect on him and the anger he felt during these times would forever flash back in his mind throughout the rest of his life. To him, the bullying went on beyond just immature kids teasing, he took everything personal and his experiences at school mentally scarred him. From his early beginnings at school all the way up to his teenage years, school continued to be a never-ending nightmare and the bullies had more fuel because Robert had a serious problem with Acne. No matter what he tried to do to help his skin condition clear up, it just got more irritated and worse. It seemed in his mind that he couldn't win no matter what he did and still the girls continued to laugh at him, nobody would go on a date with him, the isolation became immense. 

Overworked as a child, lonely, no confidence and no friends, Robert retreated into himself completely and created his own dark world, a world in which he was truly powerful. Because he couldn't take his anger and frustration out on the bullies and all who he deemed had wronged him, he chose innocent animals who were smaller and weaker than him. He would hunt animals, torture them, kill them and this gave him a sick sense of control and power. He lived in a world of sick fantasies and as well as having a real taste for hunting, he was fascinated with fire and enjoyed destroying things with fire. 

It was clear that Robert was on a really dark road and at this point he became aware of what he was doing and for some reason or another, he decided he wanted to stop and make a real proper go of things at life. He joined the United States Army Reserves and lasted about a year but it wasn't to be, however he did meet a woman and fell in love which gave him a confidence boost but by then the rot had already set in years before. The moment he started to hunt animals and enjoyed their suffering was a pivotal moment. He took joy in destruction, in causing pain, it gave him a sense of control and power which he felt eluded him in the past. By 1960 he was 21 and married but still had an axe to grind due to pent up anger, regrets and scars he couldn't shake off. Along with a friend he decided to set fire to a school bus garage and ended up behind bars. His wife decided she'd had enough and refused to stand by him so at the age of just 21 he found himself divorced, on the wrong side of the law with no direction in life. 

He didn't serve a full sentence for the arson and was released early, instead of this being a lesson to be learned, he managed to get himself into trouble on a regular basis after this, a prison cell became a regular sight at this period of his life. Despite racking up a criminal record he managed to meet and find love with another woman who he married and later had two children with. For some time after his troubled stint on the wrong side of the law it looked like he was ready to settle down. He and his family moved to Anchorage, Alaska and opened a successful bakery which was a hit with the local community, everyone found him to be a pleasant guy, even the cops would drop by and order donuts and pastries from his store. He had a reputation for being a successful businessman who, like his father, had built his business from the ground up so he had a lot of respect from people. 

Despite the success with the bakery and being a family man you'd have thought that the demons of the past that had continued to haunt him over the years had finally been banished. After all, he'd overcome so many challenges, he had a wife and children who loved him and was a well-liked and popular member of the community but no matter the good things in his life (good things that would have been enough for other people) he couldn't shake off the memories and the blood-lust or the craving for the high that he would get from hunting and destroying things. This time however, as sickening as it was that his targets were animals, his fantasies deepened and spiralled out of control. He wanted to have women at his disposal. For years he fantasised about getting revenge for all those years before when they all laughed at him, he still felt not good enough and he wanted people to suffer. 

So he led a double life, one was the popular, hard-working family man, devoted father and keen hunter (it's not my cup of tea as an animal lover but in some cultures, that horrific act is considered a sport. I have my opinions on hunting, I think it should be banned all over the world, but that's another discussion for elsewhere). The other was a complete monster who had a thirst for abducting, torturing, raping and murdering women. His fantasies of what he wanted to do to women was reportedly to have became a terrifying reality around 1972. At first it began with abductions and sexual assaults which soon escalated to murder. He had an addiction to targeting sex workers who he determined to be easy prey, he would pretend to some of the girls that he was a photographer who could help them out with photographs. He would befriend the girls and offer them money to gain their trust. In 1976 there was a brief pause of his evil crimes when he was imprisoned for theft but he was soon back on the streets again. He just went right back to his sick activities. 

Robert Hansen was a skilled flyer and had his own private plane, he would use his plane as part of his sick ritual with his victims. The women would be abducted and he would have handcuffs in his car, one side of the cuffs was locked into the car so that when the victim was in the passenger seat he would grab them and slap the other cuff onto them preventing them from escaping. He said that it became like second nature. He would tell the girls to go along with what he said and do what he wanted, he promised he would let them go. The girls would be taken aboard his plane and flown to his remote cabin in the Alaskan bush. Sometimes on a rare occasion he would let a girl go, take her back on to his plane and she would be able to escape under the threat that if she ever told anyone what happened, he would tell the police that she was a sex worker. With the majority of young girls and women (his victims were aged between 16 and 41) he would take them to the cabin, torture them, rape them and then play an even sickening game of cat and mouse with them along a river known as the Knik River. He would take the majority of his victims there and he would have them stripped naked and set them out into this location where he would take sickening joy chasing these terrified young women and girls for hours and days at a time as they tried to survive the bitter cold and his raging bullets. He would hunt them, shoot them like he did in the past with the animals he killed. Some of the women died due to the freezing temperatures and their bodies later found during police searches, their remains found in the very same places they tried to hide from him. 

The exact known number of murdered victims of Robert Hansen is not known, the number 17 is thrown around but there are victims who have been identified and so many that have not. His weapons of choice were a .22 Caliber Ruger Mini-14 rifle and a hunting knife. One of his victims who had managed to escape was a 17 year old girl by the name of Cindy Paulson in 1983. Cindy had been a working girl who had been abducted and repeatedly tortured and raped by Robert Hansen. It was a miracle that she survived and how she did manage to escape is gut-wrenching. Like so many other terrified women and girls, Cindy had been kidnapped by this monster, taken back to his cabin, chained up, tortured and raped for hours before being taken aboard his private plane to be thrown out into the wilderness to be hunted to death. Cindy in a split second took her chance to escape when he was briefly distracted as they were boarding the plane. She got out and ran for her life. Cindy was quick on her feet and in her mind, she made sure that she left her shoes behind on the plane so that if he did catch-up with her and kill her (in the hope that he was eventually captured by the police) there would be evidence on the plane that she had been there and that she had sadly been one of his victims. 

Cindy was able to get to safety by a kind passer-by and told the police everything that happened. One of the sad facts about this horrible case is the police's narrow-minded opinion in regards to sex work and the whole negative opinion about sex workers not being taken seriously as victims. Robert Hansen was seen as this well-liked, hardworking family man and sadly, Cindy was seen as a (in their words) prostitute who was full of trouble and not to be trusted. Cindy described in details everything that happened, everything about Robert Hansen himself, the locations, the furniture, the plane....everything....but the police were not taking her seriously. Robert Hansen told the police that he did meet Cindy for sexual services and that she was just bitter and wanting revenge because he refused to pay her for sex. Robert had also managed to get a friend to lie for him so he had an alibi. Sickeningly, the cops let him go. This alibi was later retracted as his friend's wife came forward to say that her husband had indeed lied for Robert as he thought that he was just helping his friend, who he had believed, at the time, to be an innocent man. 

You may have seen me talk a lot about the legendary John Douglas (FBI Criminal Profiler) and he was instrumental in this case along with a patrolman known as Officer Baker (who had believed Cindy's story from the start). During the investigation into the missing women and discovering of certain victims, the cops suspected they were on the trail of a serial killer, with John's help they were able to have a complete profile of the suspect they were looking for and incredibly, John had described Robert Hansen completely, all the way down to his speech impediment. 

Robert Hansen's property was eventually searched and the amount of evidence was overwhelming. Like so many serial killers, Robert had kept trophies of his victims, jewelry etc. At first he refused to co-operate but gave up in the end when he knew the odds were all stacked against him. The cops had also found a chilling map which covered the location of where Robert would take his victims to hunt them. On this map there was 37 X's in various locations, some of these X's were identified as burial places but the majority have never been identified. As I mentioned before, he is believed to be responsible for more than the 17 murders he was accused of. He was also accused of raping at least 30 women who had survived their horrific ordeal. In the 12 years of horror that this monster had been carrying out these sick fantasies and murders, nobody knows for sure how many deaths he is responsible for and if the unknown and unidentified victims will ever be found. 

Robert Hansen confessed to just four murders as part of a plea deal and was sentenced to four counts of first-degree murder without the possibility of parole. He died at the age of 75 in August of 2014 after suffering years of ill health. 

RIP to all of the victims of Robert Hansen, the small number who were identified and the ones who may never be identified. My thoughts also to the numerous survivors and to Cindy who by some miracle had managed to escape and tell the world what this monster had done. So much respect also to Officer Baker, John Douglas and the cops who did do the right thing and brought this monster to justice. 

Further Reading & Sources:

- The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers | Book by Michael Newton

- The Hunt: The True Story of Alaska's Most Notorious Serial Killer: Robert Hansen | Book by Ryan Green

- Robert Hansen | Murderpedia

- Robert Hansen | Wikipedia

- Hunter's Game: The FBI Files (Documentary)

- The Frozen Ground (Movie based on the Robert Hansen case)

- Robert Hansen Victim Article | Alaska.Gov

- Anchorage, Alaska | Wikipedia

- The Butcher Baker | Discovery Plus (Documentary)

- John E Douglas | Wikipedia

Thank you as always for taking the time to check out my latest post, I hope you will join me in the next one. 

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Stay safe, until next time x 

As we approach the Christmas holiday what better way to spend some of it than to binge-watch a bunch of movies that have been inspired by infamous serial killers. I have listed just 5 below and where you can find them as well as a brief backstory of each serial killer that inspired them. Let me know if you have seen any of these movies and what your opinion of them is (in the comments section below or email me: jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com). 

1: No Man of God: This movie is inspired by the infamous serial killer Ted Bundy's regular correspondence and meetings with legendary FBI special agent Bill Hagmaier (played by actor Elijah Wood) in the run up to his execution in January 1989. Ted Bundy was responsible for the numerous sexual assaults, tortures and murders of young women and girls in the mid to late 70s. His youngest victim was just 12 years old. I have covered Ted Bundy's horrific crimes as few times on this blog. You can find my previous posts about him here: Ted Bundy In His Own Words, here: 10 Facts You May Not Know About Serial Killer......Ted Bundy and The Many Faces of Ted Bundy. 

2: Wolf Creek: This horror movie is one of my favourites and will keep you on the edge of your seat. The story is based on the chilling backpacker murders in the outbacks of Australia by the infamous serial killer Ivan Milat. i previously covered his case here: The Backpacker Serial Killer: Ivan Milat, I also wrote about his nephew Matthew: Like Uncle, Like Nephew: Ivan & Matthew Milat. 

3: The Clovehitch Killer: This movie is based on the infamous Serial Killer Dennis Rader otherwise known as B.T.K (Bind, Torture, Kill). It follows the story of a teenage boy who suspects that his father is a Serial killer. I have written about BTK a few times on my blog in stand alone posts and whilst discussing other cases, but some of the posts you may be interested in if you are wanting to know more of a backstory about him from my take, check out: Shocking Facts & More About Dennis Rader AKA...BTK and 10 Facts About Dennis Rader You May Not Know

4: To Catch A Killer: If you are a regular reader of my blog you just know that I was going to end up mentioning this because I will shout about it until the cows come home. The chilling portrayal of Serial Killer John Wayne Gacy by the late, fantastic actor, Brian Dennehy has to be one of the most terrifying and accurate portrayals of a Serial Killer on screen. This movie is decades old but is still one of the best. A lot of books and documentaries about John Wayne Gacy are out there but I know my readers like to read my take on his crimes and the investigation. I have previously talked about John on this blog a few times but some posts that you might be interested in are: ''I May Be The 34th Victim....4 Other People Had Keys To My House...- John Wayne Gacy'',  10 Facts You May Not Know About John Wayne Gacy and the post I had written about the young man Jason Moss who became so obsessed with Serial Killers that he began writing to Gacy and the pair developed a sinister friendship: John Moss: The Young Man Who Wrote To Serial Killers & It Ruined His Life

5: The Frozen Ground: The infamous Serial Killer Robert Hansen also known as the 'Butcher Baker' was responsible for the horrific sexual assaults, abductions and murders of 17+ women. In The Frozen Ground he is chillingly portrayed by the actor John Cusack. Nicolas Cage also stars as the Detective leading the investigation.It's quite a gripping film and of course the backstory is very disturbing. I will be writing about Robert Hansen in more depth in a future post but check out the movie if you can. 

Well, those are 5 movies that I have included in this post but we know there are so much more, what are your recommendations? Leave them below if you like. I hope you have a wonderful holiday and (Merry Christmas) to those like myself who celebrate and.....all the best for 2026!! 

[If you have enjoyed my posts this year and found them informative and want to help support my work, please consider buying me a coffee here, thank you soooooo much!!)

Stay safe & see you in the next post (in 2026!) x 

 (From left to right. Brian Walshe & Ana Walshe. Picture credits: Boston Magazine and Fox Business)

On Monday the 15th of December 2025 we finally got the verdict from the jury in the disappearance of Ana Walshe case. The verdict (as well knew it would be) was guilty: murder in the first degree!! I have followed this case from the moment that Ana was reported missing and it has been one hell of a heartbreaking and very sinister ride. 

I would be asked to write about this case but I never did because I knew that Brian's trial would be coming up and I wanted to respect the law, plus I wanted to give my opinion once it had all been said and done. Now that the verdict is in, we can all talk freely about it. There's no doubt that this psychotic, evil man had murdered Ana. We know that he had sickeningly dismembered her body after researching over and over again on Google....''How to get rid of the smell of a dead body'', ''How to clean up blood?'', ''What tools are best for cutting up a body?''. It was hard enough when Ana went missing but when her husband was arrested and it was clear that he had something to do with her vanishing, the more details that came out were like something out of a horror movie and to see him handcuffed with a creepy smile on his face after what he had done, it really was the stuff of nightmares. 

Brian Walshe was always a very dark and twisted individual, the only person who seemed to have any time for him was his mother (who continues to remain devoted to her son) but the rest of his family disowned him. He was known as a pathological liar, a psychopath who could never be trusted and his petty crimes (selling fake paintings and pieces of art) soon grew into violence and murder. 

Ana was originally from Serbia and had worked so hard to get to where she was in America. She had worked her way up from the bottom of the Hospitality industry and had become very successful in real estate. She had moved to the US in 2005 and had married Brian Walshe in 2016, the pair went on to have 3 children together. 

Ana loved her young sons so much and on her Instagram page she would post about her children, she was such a proud mother. At the time of her reported disappearance her boys were only aged 2, 4 and 6. To anyone from the outside looking in, Ana and Brian had it all, the perfect family and the perfect home in Cohasset, Massachusettes but what nobody knew, was that the picture was far from perfect. Brian Walshe was not the well-mannered family and businessman he had portrayed himself to be. He had suffered from mental health issues since his youth and was a pathological liar who even stole from his own family. His wealth was not down to hard work, grit and determination, it was down to cutting corners and conning people out of money with fake antiques, paintings and other items. 

There was no doubt that Ana had loved her husband but it is unclear when she had found out that his business dealings were not legit or if she had always known. She did use an Ebay account to help sell some of his fake items but it's unclear if she was well aware of the fact that these items were fake. Brian had made a lot of money out of conning people and had built a whole lifestyle on it but eventually it all caught up with him when he tried to con an art expert who collected Andy Warhol paintings. The whole situation backfired on him and before he knew it, the police were involved and all of his dodgy dealings were brought out into the light. 

Whilst Brian was getting his karma, Ana seemed to be riding high in her career, going from strength to strength and soon enough she was earning way more money than her husband. The difference was that Ana's financial achievements were the result of hard work. At some point the marriage began to suffer due to Brian facing a trial for his fraud and Ana having to travel back and forth for work whilst keeping the family afloat financially as Brian's assets had been frozen. 

With the troubles and stress in the marriage, Ana began a close relationship with a man who was a friend at first but it soon developed into something more. Brian had suspicions that his wife was seeing someone else and together with his mother they hired a private investigator to follow Ana for a year. They soon got word from the private investigator that their suspicions were true. 

The last time that Ana was seen alive was on New Year's Eve of 2022, both her and Brian had spent the evening drinking champagne and having dinner with a close friend. Ana had also sent text messages throughout the evening to her friends and family. In the early hours of the 1st of January 2023 she had attempted to make some phone calls to her mother, sister and another close friend but she wasn't able to reach them. 

On the 4th of January both Brian and her employer had reported Ana missing. Brian claimed that Ana had left their home due to an emergency with one of the houses she was involved with back in Washington, D.C. and had to board a flight but although there was a record of her due to take a flight back to work she did not board and none of her bank cards had been used either. 

Brian's behaviour for a husband who's wife had gone missing was quite bizarre, he didn't seem to be that much upset or concerned. The police kept a close eye on him and after a proper investigation they found that he had been using Google Search to look up how to dispose of a dead body, how to get rid of the smell of a dead body etc, he'd also been captured on CCTV cameras at DIY stores buying cleaning products as well as various tools. It was very disturbing footage because you knew what he was buying all of those items for, to dismember his wife and dispose of her body. 

He was soon in police custody and two years after Ana was originally reported missing, he stood trial in December of 2025 where he came up with the most ridiculous story that he did not kill Ana, he claimed to have found her deceased in bed and panicked. He claimed that he didn't know what to do so he just dismembered her body and dumped her remains in trash bags. Throughout the whole trial there was not a flicker of emotion from him, not even when pictures of Ana were shown or the details of the blood and DNA found in the house. There were no tears and not a shred of remorse. 

The jury found him guilty of first degree murder and when they read out the verdict he just stood there and nodded in agreement. Still no tears or emotion, it was like this monster had no human emotion in his body. 

He is due to be sentenced in two days time and will most likely be a life sentence as is should be but I will update this post when I know of the exact term. 

It's a heartbreaking story of a beautiful woman who came to America for a better life after working so hard to make a good life for her, her boys and her family, only to be murdered and for what was an amazingly inspirational story to turn into the most horrific story, it's just so heartbreaking. Brian had previous violence incidences with Ana and had threatened to kill her and a friend but for some reason or another, Ana decided to continue the marriage with him even when he physically abused her. 

All we know is, that Ana is sadly no longer with us because of this cold-hearted monster and there are some people who have made comments about the fact that she had an affair, whatever went on, Ana did not deserve to be murdered and her boys did not deserve to have their mother taken away from them. Brian Walshe is 100% responsible for everything that had happened. He was a ticking timebomb who got by on taking advantage of others. 

RIP Ana you will never be forgotten and my heart goes out to your boys. 

Further Reading & Sources:

- The Murder of Ana Walshe | Wikipedia

- Brian Walshe: Article | NPR

- Ana Walshe | Instagram

- Brian Walshe: Article | CBS News

- Brian Walshe: Trial | Court TV

UPDATE: Brian Walshe was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole on the 18th of December 2025. As usual he displayed no flicker of emotion as he learned his fate. We may never know the true events of what happened to Ana and why he did what he did but that monster is now behind bars where he belongs. Ana's boys will be on everyone's minds and the one positive of all of this is that Ana's family and friends have expressed that they are going to do everything in their power to ensure that the boys are well looked after and will always know what a truly amazing woman their mother was. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my latest post and please feel free to leave your thoughts below or email me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com 

Stay safe, until next time....x 

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Hey everyone, I know you've probably clicked on my blog expecting to see what my latest post is about, well, you were probably aware that it was my birthday a few weeks ago. I originally planned to take just a little bit of time to enjoy my birthday and come back all refreshed, however...life got in the way as it often does and I ended up taking a break for a little bit longer than I wanted to. I just wanted to put a note on here to let you know that I will be posting again next weekend and I will make up for my absence. I have been really busy in my personal life, something unexpected happened and I had to work really hard to sort it all out, I didn't have time to sit down, study and to be honest, I couldn't focus. 

Now I am ready to get stuck into another case and my usual routine will be back to normal as of next week! I also want to say a HUGE thank you for 1,704,303 views on this blog....that is INCREDIBLE!!! You don't know how much it means to me. 

So, mark your calendars cause in the words of the legendary Arnie (as the Terminator).....I'll be back (next week lol)

PS: In the meantime, I will be on all of my Socials as usual. If you would like to help support my work, please make a donation via my PayPal 

Thank you x 

Continued From Part One.....

As more and more time went on, it was obvious something was wrong. This wasn't like the girls, it was totally out of character. The thought of their parents worrying about where they were would have mortified Jennifer and Elizabeth. No matter where they were or what they were doing, they would always stop and at least make a phone call but there was no word from the girls at all. Family and friends wasted no time putting a search together and within days the police had received an anonymous phone call from an unlikely source. Peter Cantu's brother Joe provided details to the police about what his brother had been bragging and laughing about. It ended up with Joe teaming up with the police and trying to pin point where the girls bodies were. Soon enough, the sad discovery was made just four days later. 

Although it had been 4 days later, decomposition had set in to the point where the bodies were unrecognisable. The warm temperature and the fact the bodies had been left out in the open with animals, insects as well as internal decomposition made them difficult to identify at first. The sight was very disturbing as flies and maggots had engulfed the private areas that had been left exposed. It was beyond horrific what those two lovely girls had gone through but to be also left out there with no respect and for their bodies to end up infested like that was just heartbreak after heartbreak. Word spread like wildfire that two female bodies had been found in the park and soon members of the community as well as the media were everywhere. The parents of Jennifer and Elizabeth were beside themselves, Randy Ertman (Jennifer's father) saw the news report and rushed down to the park and demanded to be given more information but at that point the bodies were still being removed carefully, they were later identified by dental records and items of clothing. The gang had stolen items of jewelry from the girls and these items were later recovered. 

The six monsters were arrested and stood trial, Venancio agreed to testify against the other gang members but not his brother Jose. None of them demonstrated a shred of remorse, in fact Peter Cantu acted pathetic from start to finish with his unbothered behaviour and lack of respect, he really was rotten to the core. The two cowardly 'Roman brothers' were questioned and they made a deal to give all the information that they knew and since they co-operated and were not involved with the actual assaults and murders, they were let go. All six were found guilty on all counts of aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping and murder. Due to his age and the fact that he co-operated with investigators, Venancio didn't face the death penalty but the others did. All five were sentenced to death but Efrain Perez and Raul Villarreal later had their death sentences switched to life sentences (with the possibility of parole after 35 years) due to a change in the law, it was ruled that anyone who committed a crime under the age of 18 was not to face the death penalty as they were considered to be a minor. Venancio was given 40 years. 

The families and friends of Jennifer and Elizabeth as well as the local community were so strong and incredible throughout everything, they all banded together. Randy Ertman became a source of inspiration and strength for not only his family and his community but for families of victims worldwide. With the help of Randy and family and friends he had gathered together, they worked to have two laws changed which are still so incredibly important to this day. Before, families of victims did not have the opportunity to have victim impact statements in court, that was abolished and now families have been given the right to have their say. At executions it was unheard of that the families of victims were able to attend but due to this case, it was lifted and now victim's families and survivors can attend executions if they wish to. Both the fathers of Jennifer and Elizabeth were given the opportunity to confront the murderers in the courtroom and Randy told them ''We live for the day that you die.''. Both of the brave men didn't hold back in their thoughts and as well as their words being so powerful, so true, they were also a huge tribute to Jennifer and Elizabeth. 

Derrick Sean O'Brien who was 31 years old, was put to death on the 11th of July 2006. Apparently he kept saying sorry over and over again before he was given the lethal injection. He refused a final meal beforehand. 

Jose Medellin was 33 when he was executed by lethal injection on the 17th of August 2010. Just like Derrick, he apologised for all the pain he caused, whether these two were genuine is anyone's guess but he also refused a last meal.

The ringleader of it all, the pathetic cretin who smiled all the way through the trial. 35 year old Peter Cantu had not a care in the world. He fancied a slap-up meal and requested Mexican food with a cinnamon bun. There was no apologies from him, no emotion whatsoever on his face and when he was asked if there was any last words he simply said no. 

The other three monsters who got off the death penalty due to their ages are still serving time and there is the possibility that they could get parole in the future but it's highly unlikely. Venancio has been up for parole at least five times so far and keeps getting turned down. He's now 47 and could be released in 2033. The families of Jennifer and Elizabeth have vowed to always fight to ensure these monsters are never released.

During the investigation into the background of these monsters, it comes as no surprise that each of them had previous run-ins with the law and it was clear that their lives were always going to end in a negative way. What was also shocking and disturbing for boys of such a young age was that just 6 months before the murders of Jennifer and Elizabeth, it was revealed that this group of sick and evil monsters were responsible for another murder of a young mother. The shocking murder of Patricia Lopez was unsolved at the time and as you can imagine it was horrific what they did to her too. Patricia had run out of petrol (gas) and was stranded, the boys spotted the attractive young woman and offered to give her a lift to the gas station in return for some alcohol. She agreed to get them some and instead of taking her to the gas station they kidnapped her, gang-raped her and then disemboweled her. The police were investigating her murder and when these monsters were in custody it was discovered that their DNA matched the scene as well as statements from Joe Cantu who had also mentioned that the gang had also bragged about Patricia's murder. They weren't put on trial for Patricia's murder but I think the attitude was that they were all facing the death penalty or life in prison anyway so they would be off the streets one way or another. 

The incredible father of Jennifer, Randy Ertman sadly passed away on August the 18th 2014 from cancer at the age of 61 and is forever remembered for his incredible strength and fight for justice for Jennifer, Elizabeth, the families and for all families of victims. 

Two memorial benches currently stand in the area where Jennifer and Elizabeth were found. People often visit and lay flowers and little mementos. Both Jennifer and Elizabeth are buried close to each other in Woodland Cemetery in Harris County, Texas.

I know these two posts were very difficult to get through and if you have made it this far, I appreciate your time so much. The horrific ordeal that Jennifer, Elizabeth and Patricia (and who knows if there's anybody else who fell victim to this group of monsters?) went through is so unbelievable and it leaves you with feelings of anger, sorrow and shock at the level of pure evil that has happened here. It's like Peter Cantu and his pathetic group of psychotic losers had a hatred towards women and young girls. Not content with the horrendous acts they committed but the utter disrespect, the lack of remorse, decency....the list goes on! Just harassed these girls, tortured them, did horrendous things and then threw them away, it's sickening. The same situation with Patricia. These three beautiful young ladies deserved to live, they had beautiful lives and were so loved and are so deeply missed. This pathetic group of losers were nothing but a stain on society, every one of them had nothing but a list of crimes, disappointments and destruction behind them. They were all monsters but Peter Cantu was an extra level of evil that even his own brother couldn't wait to get rid of him. 

RIP beautiful Jennifer, thank you for trying to save your friend and your incredible courage to go back when you had that opportunity to get free but you were selfless. What you did was amazing and heartbreaking at the same time, your father was an incredible man who fought hard for others in need and it seems you were just like him. What a beautiful legacy to be remembered for. 

RIP beautiful Elizabeth, along with Jennifer, your care and love for others was always your main priority and you fought for what was right and you fought for yourself. The enormous outpouring of grief at the loss of yourself and Jennifer just goes to show how much of an impact you left on so many people in your short lives. We will always remember you both.

RIP beautiful Patricia, a beautiful life taken in such a horrendous way. Your beautiful children carry your legacy and like Jennifer and Elizabeth you were also so kind and loved by so many. We will never forget you. 

RIP to the courageous Randy Ertman. The strength and incredible bravery you showed all the way through not only the heartbreaking loss of your daughter Jennifer, but the determination you had to see that all families had the chance to see justice and have their say. You gave the families of victims a voice as well as being the voice of victims and survivors. 

My thoughts are also with all the families and the friends of all who are sadly no longer with us. 

Further Reading & Sources: 

- Pure Murder | Book by Corey Mitchell

- Elizabeth Pena & Jennifer Ertman: Article | ABC13 News

- Jennifer Ertman & Elizabeth Pena | KPRC 2 Click2Houston

- Derrick O'Brien | Court Documents

- Jennifer Ertman & Elizabeth Pena: Article | Oxygen

- Peter Cantu: Execution Article | CBS News

- Jennifer Ertman & Elizabeth Pena | Reddit Discussion Thread

- Venancio Medellin: Parole Report | Fox 26 News

- Randy Ertman: Article | Tampa Bay News

- Randy Ertman: Article | Houston Chronicle

- Randy Ertman: Article | Los Angeles News

- Randy Ertman: Article | Boston Globe News

- Jennifer Ertman | Find A Grave

- Elizabeth Pena | Find A Grave

- Randy Ertman | Find A Grave 

- Death row Information | Texas Gov

- Capital Punishment in Texas | Wikipedia

I will be taking a short break from writing as it's my birthday on the 5th of November (if you would like to buy me a birthday coffee and help support my work, you can do so here thank you so much!!!) 

In the meantime, I hope you will join me for a chat, a coffee or whatever on my Socials

Stay safe, until next time.........x 

As a true crime writer I often feel like I sound like a stuck record when I say the words 'this is one of the most disturbing cases that I have ever written about' but the truth is, all of the cases I have written about have been heartbreaking and disturbing. Whether it is one person who has had their lives so cruelly taken or a number of people, each story is equally important and one victim is one too many. We all have the right to live our lives in peace and safety as long as we treat others the way in which we would like to be treated ourselves, with respect, understanding and with the best of intentions. Of course I'm talking about what I would ideally like to be the case but we know that, in reality, our world is often quite a cruel and dark place where we have good people and some bad people....some very, very bad people. 

I'm going back in time in this post to 1993, a time where it was all about hair scrunchies, girlbands and boybands, jeans paired with sweaters, grunge and blockbuster movies like Jurassic Park. Not forgetting the battle of the big ballads with Whitney Houston's cover of Dolly Parton's 'I Will Always Love You' and Meatloaf's 'I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won' Do That)'. It was an epic time to be a teenager, way before mobile phones and the Internet took over, people had to actually socialise and teenagers could be teenagers without a rush to grow up or the added pressures that young people have today. There is a lot of positive things I could list about the 1990s but again, in all reality, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, the world was still as dangerous then as it is today, it's just that with the internet we have news from other corners of the world, places we never knew existed and a hard dose of reality on a daily basis of what actually goes on in places beyond our reach. We have more knowledge of crimes and often see crimes carried out in real time on our laptops and mobile phones. 

As teenagers in the 1990s (as well as a lot of people in general) there was sense of ignorance about the world and potential dangers lurking around every corner but that wasn't so much a bad thing. I mean, who wants to go through life being paranoid, not being able to fully enjoy life and worrying about what could potentially happen. I like to think that most of us nowadays have a bit of a balance, we are careful with where we go and who we trust but as we know that doesn't always guarantee 100% safety. This case has been covered quite a lot over the years but I have had many readers request for me to write about it. I was familiar with this disturbing story and like everyone else who knows the full details of what happened, it has never left me and will forever horrify me. 

I always make a little note at the beginning of my posts to remind readers that the content may cover some disturbing details and in this post, that goes without question, it will be beyond nightmarish and if you feel that you can go through this very dark, upsetting and evil journey with me in this article, I will be honest and say that it won't be an easy read but I appreciate your time and it's always important that we never forget victims of such evil acts or cloak the monsters who do such things in darkness. Sometimes you find that cases where the perpetrators have been in prison for a long time and nobody's talked about their story and what they did to be put away for so long in the first place, some people tend to get a bit too sympathetic for my liking. No matter how much time has passed If someone or a gang of people have committed horrendous acts where they have taken lives, they should serve every bit of time they are given or face whatever the law has dealt for them and that includes the death penalty. I'll never understand some people who email me that so and so has been in prison for a certain length of time for doing horrendous things to children before murdering them and they'll expect me to help a campaign where the proven, convicted killer gets their sentence changed/reduced. That again taps into the whole 'death penalty' vs life sentence debate and I want to focus on this particular story that is disturbing enough.

So, let's get into this case as tough as it's going to be to get through....

Most of us remember what we were like as teenagers and some of the things we got up to away from our parents. The cheeky cigarettes, the 7-up bottle filled with cheap wine, hanging about the park at all hours and probably hanging out with people that we shouldn't have been. Listening to music, gossiping, having crushes, thinking we were invincible. Bills and taking care of a house was not even a thought in our minds, we believed that when we grew up we'd get a house and have parties all the time. Then at some point reality kicked in and then it was jobs, paying bills, cleaning the house and proper reality. In June of 1993, two close friends, 16 year old Elizabeth Pena and 14 year old Jennifer Ertman were just like your everyday teenage girls who were into fashion, boybands, hanging out with friends and experimenting with makeup. The two pretty girls were like two peas in a pod, almost joined at the hip and anyone who knew them would say how friendly and kind they were. As pretty as both the girls were, there was no air of narcissism or snobbery, they chatted away to everyone and were really down to earth with quite a maturity for their young ages. Both girls highly respected their parents and did what they were told and that included keeping in touch if they were ever out somewhere. If their parents told them to be home by a certain time, they would be there. 

On the night of June the 24th 1993 the weather was quite warm in Houston, Texas and the girls had been spending some time at a friend's party when they realised they were cutting it a bit fine with the time. They had previously agreed with their parents that they would be home at a certain time and they wanted to honour that agreement. Knowing that it was looking like they would be home late if they took their usual route, they decided to walk through the park as it would only take them 10 minutes and they'd done that previously and nothing sinister ever happened. With a short walk they probably felt confident that all would be ok. I'm sure a lot of us remember times when we would cut through a park (or in my case, a graveyard.....yes, I confess, I always used to cut through the old cemetery in my hometown to get to and from high school back in the day....and in my defense a lot of the kids did that and to my knowledge, they still do) to save time and thought nothing of it, especially if we had done that so many times before. 

On this warm evening the girls made their way to Oak Forest Park and unknown to them there was a gang of eight young men who were carrying out what they called a 'Gang Initiation'. These idiots called themselves 'The Black & White Gang' and they thought they were something special. Part of this gang ritual involved fighting and drinking beer and the leader of the group was 18 year old Peter Cantu who was never out of trouble. They had accepted 17 year old Raul Villarreal into their group and they all celebrated. Present at the scene were Peter Cantu, Raul Villarreal, Jose Medellin, Efrain Perez, Derrick Sean O'Brien and Venancio Medellin, Jose's 14 year old brother. Two other boys were also present and they were known locally as 'The Roman Brothers'. 

Full of beer and getting rowdy, the gang members noticed two girls walking past them, it was Elizabeth and Jennifer. The two girls thought that if they kept their heads down and walked past the guys quickly there wouldn't be any trouble but Jose Medellin had other ideas and so did his evil friends. The boys were excited to see two pretty young girls in the park but instead of just paying a few compliments and letting the girls go about their way, the worst and unimaginable events came into play. 

Venancio looked on as his own brother and his gang mates (encouraged and ordered by Peter Cantu) proceeded to grab and grope the girls, pushing them to the floor, pulling at their clothing, grabbing their breasts and dragging them across the grass. The Roman Brothers became alarmed and quickly realised what was going to happen and they didn't want any part of it. Instead of having a shred of human decency and attempting to help these two terrified young girls, the pair decided they would just let the guys carry-on with it and they left. No phone calls were made to the authorities. 

No matter how much research one can do into a case like this, the horrifying reality of the full details of what these girls went through is traumatic to read but nobody for a moment could imagine the sheer terror and agony that those two young girls went through. Six of these monsters against two young girls and it just got worse and worse and worse. I have to mention the important fact that at one point, Jennifer had the chance to get away but she tried to help Elizabeth and so they grabbed her again and carried on assaulting her. As both girls, kicked, screamed, scratched and tried to bite their attackers the horrific rapes carried on. Both girls had been subjected to the most brutal physical and sexual assaults you do not want to imagine! They were forced to perform oral sex and were subjected to vaginal and anal rape numerous times. Each of the monsters cheered each other on as 14 year old Venancio watched on, soon enough the rest of the monsters encouraged him that it was 'his turn' and he joined in. This sickening nightmare went on for more than an hour with each of the girls trying everything to make it stop but they were powerless against these monsters. 

When the monsters had finished their evil and despicable assaults they decided that the girls would have to be murdered because they would be able to identify them. Nobody could imagine what state these poor girls were in after being horrifically beaten and gang-raped, they now had to hear that they were going to be murdered. The girls begged and pleaded for their lives, they just laughed and continued to call the girls names whilst kicking them, to them they had their fun and that was that. Both of the girls were then dragged into a wooded area and Jennifer was ordered to get on to her knees, she was strangled to death with a belt as Elizabeth was forced to watch. In sheer horror and desperation, she began offering them her phone number in an attempt to get on their 'nice' side (if there was a shred of that, that even existed, I think not) but these monsters didn't care. Elizabeth tried to get away but was mercilessly kicked in the face and body with such forced that her ribs were broken and her teeth knocked out. She was then strangled to death with a pair of shoelaces. 

As both girls lay on the ground, deceased, badly beaten, covered in cuts, horrific injuries both outer and inner as well as partially dressed with no respect or dignity given to them.....the monsters ended their night of horrific evil by stomping hard on each of the girl's necks to ensure (as they later said ) ''that they were dead''. 

The evil and utter depravity of these boys was indescribable, they enjoyed every minute of what they had done, there was no remorse, no regret, nothing. In fact they couldn't shut up about it, Peter was bragging to his brother Joe about what they had done, just hours after the horrific and brutal murders of these two beautiful young girls. 

Back in the family homes of Jennifer and Elizabeth, their parents became increasingly concerned about where their daughters were. As they'd always had a close relationship with the girls and knew that the girls were together, part of them assumed that they must have fallen asleep at their friend's house and they'd call soon but that call never came. 

Continued In Part Two....