For decades, Terry Peder Rasmussen weaved in and out of the legal system for various crimes, which ranged from bad checks to aggravated assault. However, he was also quietly living a much more troubling life behind the scenes.
After assuming a slew of aliases, police eventually were able to positively link the man who would become known as the "chameleon killer" to a variety of violent and disturbing crimes, but catching him would prove to be a difficult task.
Early Life
Terry Peder Rasmussen on December 23, 1943, in Denver, Colorado. After spending roughly the first decade of his life in Centennial State, he and his parents relocated to Arizona. Even though little is known about the details of his childhood, it appears as though he lived a relatively normal life throughout his formative years.
After enrolling in high school, Rasmussen opted to drop out in tenth grade so that he could serve in the U.S. Navy, which he did for six years. He later moved to Hawaii, got married, and had four children. By all accounts, Rasmussen was heading in a positive direction. However, it wasn't long before he started having run-ins with the law.
Initial Arrests
In 1973, after bouncing between California and Arizona, Rasmussen was arrested for aggravated assault. This would be the start of a troubling pattern of violent behavior.
Around this time, Rasmussen's wife and children also reportedly left after he was charged with aggravated assault for a second time. Following their exit, Rasmussen unexpectedly visited his family in Arizona in Dec. 1974. This was the last time they ever saw him.
First Alias Emerges
1978 was the year that Rasmussen's divorce was finalized and when he was first connected to Marylse Honeychurch. On Thanksgiving Day, Honeychurch reportedly had an argument with her family and left with Rasmussen, along with her two daughters, Marie Vaughn and Sarah McWaters. The three were never seen again.
This would be an important piece of the puzzle when it came to officially linking Rasmussen to the crimes as she introduced him to her family using his real name. The disappearance of Honeychurch and her children also marked the first known instance where women around Rasmussen vanished.
Around this time, he allegedly began bouncing around between jobs as well, as he informed those around him that he was working at various places, such as the “Brown & Root” Company (currently KBR) in Houston, Texas, and on an oil rig. Within a year, he would also begin working as an electrician under the alias "Bob Evans."
New Run-Ins With Law Enforcement
Even though Rasmussen went quite some time without running into trouble with the law, he would soon find himself facing a string of arrests for writing a bad check in 1979, along with theft of services (electricity) and diverting electric current in 1980.
During the 1980 arrests, he would be identified as Robert T. Evans, which was his second known alias.
Suspicious Activity Continues
By 1981, Rasmussen was yet again connected to another missing woman. This time, it was his girlfriend, 23-year-old Denise Beaudin, along with her 6-month-old daughter, Dawn.
Then, in 1985, he faced yet another arrest for a DUI in California, but when police went to book him, they instead charged "Curtis Kimball," his newest alias.
Barrel Found In Woods
Despite the numerous disappearances that surrounded Rasmussen, it would take some time before he was directly tied to any crimes. However, in 1985, his past began to catch up with him when a barrel was discovered by a hunter in Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown, New Hampshire. After alerting the police, they discovered the bodies of an unidentified woman and child inside.
Forensic analysis showed that the woman was roughly 22-23 and the child was between the ages of 5-11. Eventually, the woman would be identified as Marlyse Elizabeth Honeychurch in June 2019.
Walls Close In
By the time 1986 rolled around, Rasmussen was yet again using new aliases, such as "Gordon Jenson" and "Gerry Mockerman" as he continued to evade police. Unbeknownst to him, investigators had been able to prove that "Gordon Jenson" and "Curtis Kimball" were, in fact, the same person. This would be another pivotal point in the case.
In 1989, Rasmussen was yet again arrested, only this time it was for child endangerment due to the fact that he had abandoned Denise Beaudin’s daughter in 1986. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to three years behind bars but was released after only a year and a half. Once freed, he failed to report to his parole officer and disappeared after Nov. 1990.
Despite being pulled over and cited for not having insurance or a driver's license years later, Rasmussen, now going by "Lawrence William Vanner," would continue his crime spree. However, it wouldn't be long before he would face his stiffest sentence.
Second Barrel Located
Fifteen years after the first barrel was found, a second barrel was discovered in New Hampshire's Bear Brook State Park in May 2000. Eventually, the two children inside, who were between the ages of 2-4 years old and 1-3 years old, would be identified as Honeychurch's youngest daughter, Sarah Lynn McWaters, and Rasmussen's own biological daughter, who could never officially be named.
Eunsoon Jun's Body Found At Rasmussen's Home
Between the years 1999 and 2002, Rasmussen had been involved with Eunsoon Jun. But, when a friend reported her missing, he was brought in for questioning. At that time, police also took his fingerprints, which he provided voluntarily. After confirming that they matched those belonging to "Curtis Kimball," Rasmussen was arrested and a search warrant was issued for his California home.
Once inside his residence, they located Jun's body underneath a large pile of kitty litter. In November of that year, he was formally charged with Jun's murder. Then, in 2003, he was sentenced to 15 years behind bars. He died in Dec. 2010 of a combination of pulmonary emphysema, pneumonia, and lung cancer. He was 67.
Police continue to search for answers regarding the identity of the final unidentified child from the second barrel, and in 2020, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and New Hampshire law enforcement released a new sketch in an attempt to finally solve the mystery.
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]]>The Inquisitr
