Episode 20: The Chameleon Killer
The Chameleon Killer
Terry Peder Rasmussen
Image Credit: Lukasz Szmigiel
When Terry Peder Rasmussen died in December 2010 at High Desert State Prison in Susanville, California, just five days after his 67th birthday, no knew he was a serial killer. In fact, they didn’t even know his real name. Police and prison officials knew him by his alias, Larry Vanner as well as other aliases he used in the past, Gordon Jensen and Curtis Kimball.
Listen as we discuss the crimes Terry committed and how the police discovered who he really was. Then, we’ll dig into a family tree that left both Denise and Zelda stunned.
Early mugshot from around 1973
Mugshot from the early 80s
Mugshot from 1990
Last mugshot from 2002
Terry, as a baby, being held by his uncle, Ambrose Rasmussen
Young Terry, likely in the early 1950s
Yearbook picture from 1959 North High School in Phoenix, Arizona
Yearbook picture from 1960 North High School in Phoenix, Arizona, likely his last year in high school.
Thor Rasmussen and his wife Helen, Ambrose Rasmussen and his wife Lois. The little girl is Bonnie Sage and the tiny woman standing next to her is Thor’s sister/mother-in-law Hilda Rasmussen Sage.The man in the back is unknown, but it is possibly George Sage, Helen’s father.
Helen Sage Rasmussen and Thor Rasmussen
Jenny Nielsen Rasmussen
Jenny & Peder Rasmussen
The Oscar II, the ship Jenny Nielsen crossed on in 1907 before marrying Peder Lund Rasmussen.
Rosario Mine in Honduras back when it was active, likely around the time the Berwicks lived there.
Rosario Mine today. The white building was where the U.S. Embassy was located.
Samuel Berwick, brother of Captain Almon Berwick, with his grandchildren. Almon and all his siblings were all listed as “mulatto”, or mixed-race, in the early censuses. They were able to “pass” and did so in later years.
Eli Berwick and Mary Zilpha Hayes marriage record. They got married in Texas, likely because no on there knew that Mary was a free person of color. It was illegal for people of different races to marry.
Source: The Times Picayune, 12 Feb 1895
additional information
Shades of Gray: The Life and Times of a Free Family of Color on the Texas Frontier by Jason A. Gillmer
The Swamp Angels: A History of Spaights 11th Battalion, Texas Volunteers, Confederate States Army by W. T. Block
New Hampshire Department of Justice Timeline for Terry Peder Rasmussen
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SOURCES
Wikipedia
Acadian-Cajun Genealogy & History
ABC News article mentioned by Zelda during the podcast episode
We use a multitude of resources when researching a family tree up to an including census records from 1800-1940, marriage records in various states, draft registration cards, and more. If you would like more specific details on where information was obtained, please email us and we’ll respond in a timely manner.