Bear Brook Murders, New Hampshire
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Final Bear Brook victim identified as Rea Rasmussen, closing a 40-year-old case but leaving questions about her mother.
A LITTLE girl has finally been named 25 years after she was found dead in a barrel at a New Hampshire state park. The fourth and final victim of serial killer Terry Rasmussen has been identified
The mystery, one of the first major cases to highlight genetic genealogy in solving crimes, began in 1985 when a hunter discovered the bodies of a woman and 9-year-old girl in a barrel at Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown. In 2000, an investigator found another barrel nearby containing the body of two more girls estimated to be ages 2 and 3.
Her tiny body was found stuffed in a barrel in the New Hampshire woods, one of four victims of the so-called Chameleon Killer. No one knew who she was, where she was from or how she got there, until now.
State officials are working with relatives of the fourth and final identified Bear Brook murder victim to return her remains to her family.
New Hampshire authorities used DNA genealogy to identify Rea Rasmussen as the last unknown victim in a 40-year serial killer case.
Raw video: New Hampshire investigators hold news conference after identifying Terry Rasmussen victim
After identifying the final victim of the Bear Brook murders as Rea Rasmussen, investigators with the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office answer questions at a news conference on Monday. See the full news conference,