Boy Scouts Found A Skull In The Woods. Decades Later, Funeral Director Pleaded Guilty

ST. CROIX COUNTY, WI — A human skull found by Boy Scouts in western Wisconsin sat unidentified for years.

Recent DNA genealogy helped investigators identify the skull as belonging to Alyce Catharina Peterson, a Stillwater woman who died in 2001 after a medical emergency at Regions Hospital in St. Paul.

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The discovery led investigators back to Simonet Funeral Home in Stillwater and Benjamin Carl Hanson, 57, of Bayport, who worked there as a licensed funeral director, according to the criminal complaint.

Hanson pleaded guilty in St. Croix County Circuit Court to hiding a corpse, court records show.

Hanson was sentenced to four years of probation, with one year in the St. Croix County Jail, according to court records. He must serve 90 days in jail, while the remaining nine months were stayed.

The skull was found in a plastic bag in October 2002 near the Fred C. Anderson Boy Scout Camp in the Town of Somerset, Wisconsin, according to the complaint.

Peterson's funeral arrangements had been handled by Simonet Funeral Home, where Hanson worked, according to the complaint. Investigators found multiple forms in Peterson's funeral file signed by Hanson, the complaint states.

KARE 11 reported that Hanson was later fired from Simonet Funeral Home. According to the complaint, a former funeral home employee told investigators she had raised concerns about Hanson stealing from the business, including allegations that he used a company credit card for personal purchases.

Another former employee told investigators Hanson appeared to be struggling in 2001 and said he believed Hanson had been hospitalized for mental health reasons, the complaint states.

The St. Croix County Sheriff's Office began working with the DNA Doe Project in 2021 to identify the skull. The group used genetic genealogy to identify the remains as Peterson's, and a DNA test from one of Peterson's nieces later confirmed it, according to the DNA Doe Project.

Hanson must report to the St. Croix County Jail no later than July 31, 2026, following restitution court, according to court records.

As part of his probation, Hanson cannot work in a funeral home or in the funeral industry, court records show. He must also maintain absolute sobriety, take prescribed medications, continue mental health services and have no contact with Peterson's family.