HUDSON, Wis. (WJMC) — Investigators and DNA testing have solved a 23-year-old cold case for found human remains in St. Croix County, and now a former funeral director faces charges for theft and hiding a corpse.
A human skull was found at a Boy Scout Camp near Somerset in 2002. Recent DNA analysis traced the remains back to 91-year-old Alyce C. Peterson, of Stillwater, Minnesota. Peterson died of natural causes in July 2001. Experts said her skull was removed after she died.
Investigators found that Benjamin C. Hanson, now 57 and of Bayport, Minnesota, had been the funeral director for Peterson’s cremation, and he had allegedly charged more than $2,700 for a hair styling, which the family had not requested. Witnesses said Hanson had been not acting normal at the time and was eventually fired from the funeral home.
He now faces charges of felony theft and hiding a corpse.