Former funeral home employee charged in connection with skull found in Wisconsin in 2002

Mary Divine, Pioneer Press on Dec 18, 2025

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A former employee of a Minnesota funeral home has been charged with stealing the skull of a woman before her body was cremated in 2001.

Benjamin Carl Hanson, 57, of Bayport, Minnesota, was arrested on Wednesday on charges of hiding a corpse and felony theft in connection with the crime, which was discovered in October 2002 when Boy Scouts found the skull at the Fred C. Anderson Boy Scout Camp in Somerset Township, Wisconsin.

Authorities say Hanson worked as a funeral director for Simonet Funeral Home in Oak Park Heights in the early 2000s.

In August, DNA and genetic testing confirmed the skull belonged to Alyce C. Peterson, 92, of Stillwater. She died of natural causes on July, 23, 2001 at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, according to the St. Croix County, Wis., Sheriff’s Office.

Peterson was reportedly cremated at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Maplewood, and relatives were given her ashes.

On Oct. 19, 2002, a group of Boy Scouts hiking at the camp stumbled upon a black garbage bag in a ravine that contained human remains. They notified the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office.

DNA tests were done on the remains, but officials could not identify the person.

Nearly two decades later, in February 2021, the case was brought to the DNA Doe Project, an all-volunteer nonprofit organization headquartered in Sebastopol, Calif., whose mission is to identify John and Jane Does and return them to their families, and a DNA profile was generated. In August, authorities announced it belonged to Peterson.

According to the criminal complaint, filed in St. Croix County District Court, Hanson was the only employee at Simonet Funeral Home who had access to Peterson’s body in 2001.

One former Simonet employee told investigators that he believed Hanson was hospitalized in 2001 for “mental-health reasons,” the complaint states.

Another former employee, who was hired to replace Hanson, said Hanson “attempted to swerve at her in the parking lot with his vehicle in 2003,” according to the criminal complaint. Funeral home officials attempted to file a retraining order against him, but that was denied, the complaint states.

Hanson allegedly stole from Simonet Funeral Home by “purchasing school supplies and lawnmower parts on the company credit card, as well as having HVAC work completed at his residence, all paid for by Simonet Funeral Home,” the complaint states. “(She) described Hanson as moody and irate.”

When Simonet Funeral Home officials fired Hanson, law-enforcement officers had to remove him from the premises, the complaint states.

According to the complaint, the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office transferred Peterson’s skull last year to anthropologist Jordan Karsten at the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory for further analysis. Karsten concluded that Peterson’s skull was removed from her body post-mortem and “could have been a consequence from dismemberment involving chopping to the back of the neck,” the complaint states.

St. Croix County Sheriff Scott Knudson announced the charges and arrest in a press release issued Thursday.

“We wish to express our condolences and appreciation to the family of Alyce Peterson, who respectfully requests privacy as they grieve the renewed attention surrounding their loved one’s death,” he said in a statement.

Cash bond for Hanson was set at $5,000 on Thursday. Hanson could face additional charges in Washington County. The Oak Park Heights Police Department on Wednesday forwarded its investigation to the Washington County Attorney’s office for review and possible criminal charges, said Sgt. Brian Zwach.

“Simonet Funeral Home has fully cooperated with the investigation and has provided information crucial to the investigation,” he said.

The current owner of Simonet Funeral Home, John Mahn, purchased the business in 2013. He released a statement on Thursday via his attorney, Michael Sharkey, stating that Hanson has “never been an employee of the current owners of Simonet.”

“(We) wish to express our deepest empathies to the family of Alice Peterson,” the statement reads, referring to the name used on her death certificate. “We are both saddened and angry at the situation as it is not how professional funeral directors conduct themselves. (We) want the families we serve to understand that the events in question took place back in 2001, 12 years prior to when the current owners purchased Simonet Funeral Home in 2013. At all times, (we) have fully cooperated with law enforcement and will continue to do such.”

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