"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. Authorities determined that all four had been killed in the late 1970s or early 1980s and placed in the park."
"By 2019, they had identified all but the "middle child" and concluded based on DNA analysis that the killer was her father, Terry Rasmussen, who died in prison in 2010 after being convicted of killing another woman in California. But for years, they didn't know the name of the girl. That changed after the New Hampshire State Police's cold case unit partnered with the DNA Doe Project, which used extensive DNA analysis and genealogical research to identify her as Rea Rasmussen."
Four female bodies were placed in barrels and discovered at Bear Brook State Park, one in 1985 and another in 2000. The victims included a woman, a 9-year-old, and two girls aged about 2 and 3, killed in the late 1970s or early 1980s. DNA analysis established the killer as Terry Rasmussen, who died in prison in 2010 after a separate conviction. Genetic genealogy work by the DNA Doe Project and New Hampshire cold-case investigators produced a large family tree and identified the 9-year-old as Rea Rasmussen, prompting renewed searches for other likely victims.
Read at Boston.com
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