Excerpts from "He Killed Our Janny" [1984 Janyce Hansen Unsolved Case, Aurora, Colorado]
This photo of Janyce "Janny" Hansen was taken just a few weeks prior to her suspicious death.
EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER FOURTEEN
(10 months prior to Janyce Hansen's mysterious death)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
It was November 13, 1983, a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving. The night began much like any other evening for Janyce and Richard. They went out for dinner at the El Torrito Restaurant, where they started drinking. But on this particular night, instead of driving home, they decided to stay at The Denver Marriott Hotel SE. It was only a couple of blocks away, so they left their car where it was parked and walked to the hotel. Richard checked the two of them into Room 335. They barely got settled into their room before he was on the phone ordering a bottle of their best champagne from room service.
Janyce had no way of knowing that he’d had sex with men over the years. Although he didn’t think of himself as gay, he enjoyed frequenting Empire Baths downtown and discovered he had a passion for anal sex. Tonight he was going to introduce his wife to it.
Janyce had gone along with almost all of Richard’s sexual fantasies—everything from threesomes to wild orgies—for fear of displeasing him. But she had never wanted to engage in anal sex. They sat around talking and having a few more glasses of champagne, and then got into bed and began making love. While they were having sex, Richard told her how he fantasized about having anal sex with her and with another man in their bed at the same time. He told her about his sexual experiences at the bathhouse and how it had almost become an addiction for him. He wanted Janyce to experience the same pleasures he had.
He turned her over onto her stomach.
“No,” she screamed. “I’m not going to let you do this. Just get off me and let me sleep.”
Richard, enraged, got out of bed and grabbed his cowboy boot. He walked back to where she was still lying on her stomach.
“I’ll teach you never to disobey me, you bitch.” He lifted his boot and started beating Janyce. It took her a second before she realized what was happening—Richard must be hitting her with something hard. She was thinking: Oh dear God—help me—what have I done?
Richard continued striking her on her head and back, over and over again. He pushed her head into the pillow to stifle her screams for help. She tried to roll over, but he kept hitting her. Then he tore the lamp off the wall next to the bed and began striking her with it. Janyce felt something warm running down from her head, onto her face and mouth. She realized it was blood. She could see it pooling onto the hotel’s white sheets and spreading as she struggled to move.
EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
(September 21, 1984 day of Janyce Hansen's suspicious death)
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
On September 21, 1984, a call came into the Aurora Police Department as a possible suicide. Officers were dispatched to 12754 East Cedar Avenue.
First responders arriving at approximately 2:53 a.m. included a rescue unit and fire engine from the Aurora Fire Department. Shortly thereafter, several officers from the Aurora Police Department arrived.
Among the first on the scene were Officers E. J. Hockom, Timothy Huffman, and J. Turner. As Officer Hockom approached, he noticed a man and young woman standing in the driveway. The two were later identified as Richard Hansen, the owner of the house, and his twenty-two year old daughter, Patricia Hansen. Richard was wearing dark trousers and a white shirt, and Patricia was wearing a pink bathrobe.
Richard was shouting and crying, “She’s dead. She’s dead, isn’t she?” He was extremely hysterical, pacing around and waving his arms wildly, banging on a brick wall in front of the house. Then he began pulling out pieces of vines from the landscaping and throwing them to the ground, screaming, “She’s dead, she’s dead. She was waiting in the car for me.”
His daughter stood on the front lawn crying as she watched him.
After observing the man’s behavior Officer Hockom walked over to the open garage door where he was met by an overwhelming smell of exhaust fumes. The home had a two-car attached garage. Inside were two Mercedes Benz automobiles. The one on the left was a convertible with the passenger door open. Below it, on the garage floor, was a red towel and a woman’s black high-heeled shoe. Officer Hockom looked into the car. The keys were in the ignition and turned to the first on position. The key chain read, “Richard’s Keys.”
Officer Hockom walked around to the front of the car, where he side-stepped a very large pool of liquid that had formed on the floor of the garage under the engine area. The hood was hot although the car was not running. The headlights were on and starting to fade. Apparently, the battery was dying.
He walked over to the other car and noticed the engine area was also hot. The keys were in the ignition, and the key chain read, “Janyce.” He noted that a man’s sport coat, tie, and belt were in the car.
He walked over to the door leading into the house from the garage and went in. The scene was chaotic. Inside were several police officers, as well as several first responders from the fire department. Everyone was asking questions trying to determine what was wrong with the victim. No one seemed to know whether or not the woman had attempted suicide or had a heart attack.
In the meantime, Officer Huffman took a quick look around for signs of a struggle. The house was well kept and tidy, except for what appeared to be dog feces on the dining room floor. A Rocky Mountain newspaper was lying on the breakfast room table, with a few pages scattered on the countertop. He walked through the rest of the house on the main floor and then went upstairs. The only thing out of place up there was a hairbrush lying on the floor of the master bedroom.
He returned downstairs and watched as the Fire Department personnel were working on the woman trying to revive her. One paramedic was giving her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, while another was trying to get information as to the woman’s age and anything else that would be helpful.
“Is this your wife?” he asked Richard. “How old is she? Do you know what happened to her?”
Richard didn’t answer any of his questions. He was hysterical and acting as if he couldn’t comprehend a word he was saying. The medic, desperate for information, turned his attention to Patricia.
“Do you know this woman? Is she your mother? Do you know how old she is? Can you tell me anything that might help us?”
Patricia just stood there crying uncontrollably and didn’t speak either.
Officer Turner went in search of anything that would give them any information about who the woman was. Upstairs he found a purse on a bathroom vanity in the master bath. It was easy enough for him to retrieve a driver’s license and identification. He went downstairs to convey the information to medics. The woman’s name on the driver’s license was Janyce Hansen, age forty.
After working on the woman for several minutes, it became apparent to the paramedics that they could not revive her. A medic then turned to Richard.
“I’m sorry, sir. She’s not responding at all, and I’m afraid we can’t do anything further for her.”
They placed a sheet over her body and left. Then they notified the coroner and crime scene investigators.
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