Rachel Hansen

0:00This episode of Voices for Justice is sponsored by Shopify. I think most people have a dream of starting their own business, but what they don't tell you is that you're going to be wearing a lot of hats and that your to-do list is never-ending and always growing. Finding that right tool that not only helps you out, but simplifies everything can be a game changer. For millions of businesses, that tool is Shopify. They're the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world, like Mattel. They also help you build your online store with hundreds of ready-to-use templates. They can even help you write product descriptions, page headlines, and enhance your product photography.

0:38And marketing, they've got that covered too. You can easily create email and social media campaigns wherever your customers are scrolling or strolling. If you're ready to sell, you're ready for Shopify. Turn your big business idea into with Shopify on your side. Sign up for your$1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com slash justice. Go to shopify.com slash justice. Shopify.com slash justice.

1:11When it comes to what your family eats and drinks, you know your choices matter. You're the expert because you know what fits your life. And getting it right starts with good information. That's why America's beverage companies are sharing more information about our ingredients at goodtoknowfacts.org. No spin, no judgments, just the facts straight from the experts for more than 140 beverage ingredients. Visit goodtoknowfacts.org.

2:00have been changed or omitted per their request or for safety purposes. Listener discretion is advised. My name is Sarah Turney and this is Voices for Justice.

2:17Today, I'm discussing the case of Rachel Hansen. At about 7 a.m. on June 4, 2022, Todd Hansen answered his front door to just about the worst situation any parent can experience. It was the Gilbert Police Department. They tell him that his 19-year-old daughter Rachel had been shot in her apartment, and despite doctors working on her for hours, she was gone. This is the case of Rachel Hansen. Rachel, unfortunately, did not have the easiest start in life. She experienced a lot of trauma before she was fostered by the Hansen family on Valentine's Day in 2009. Rachel was only six. But the Hansons had previously adopted one of her siblings, so they were more than happy to take her in and officially adopt her just three months later.

3:09Rachel would later get her official adoption date tattooed on her arm in Roman numerals to commemorate this. Family life was new to Rachel, and she was used to taking care of herself. But she absolutely flourished. Like a lot of kids who experience trauma, Rachel understood struggle and was extremely kind and caring to others At the age of 10, she was known to walk her wagon around the block Asking neighbors for any spare food they could donate to those in need She was also fundamental in raising funds for a friend of hers who developed a serious medical condition Rachel was also just tough She loved sports and was the only girl on her 8th grade football team but what she really loved was horses.

3:55One day when Rachel was 12 she was sitting on the fence that ran alongside their one acre property in Gilbert, Arizona and she just kind of thought out loud that she would love to have a horse. So Kim and Todd Hansen did what I think most parents would if they could. They got her a horse named Dash. The Hansens had fostered and adopted many children previously, and they knew the power of equine therapy, specifically for children who had experienced trauma. And while they'd gotten out of the business of horses at this point, they started back up again, just for Rachel. And Rachel was so excited that she didn't even wait for an adult to help her mount her horse.

4:35Instead, she climbed up on the fence and just got on. By age 14, Rachel was giving riding lessons to younger children. And by 16, she started her own business, riding, training, finding, and selling horses for her clients. By 19, she had her own apartment in Gilbert, got her real estate license, and planned to add selling horse properties to her long list of ambitions within the equestrian world. Rachel's mother, Kim Hansen, was kind enough to speak with me for this episode, and she told me that's just who Rachel was. She was extremely ambitious and extremely kind. She was just very active in so many things, so involved in everything she could be involved in, because she had such a compassionate heart for animals, but also for people.

5:30So she was just, she was a go-getter, always wanting to be involved in whatever was going on and not do it just a little bit, do it 110%, which is why she graduated from high school early and had already started a business and just was ready to move forward in life. time for high school and the nonsense and having being around peers that she didn't like what they were doing and teachers that would tell her to do things she didn't want to do. She just was very independent and she was able to graduate with honors a year early. So obviously she was very intelligent and just very, very full of life and ready to just start, start her adventure.

6:33In addition to these ambitions and professional adventures, if you will, Rachel was also about to embark on another adventure, marriage, and maybe eventually starting her own family. Rachel got engaged in the spring of 2022 at the age of 19 to a man named Jomet Bailey. They took their engagement photos on the bridge overlooking Canyon Lake. It was one of Rachel's favorite places. While Rachel didn't have the best start in life, she was definitely determined to realize every single one of her dreams, and was well on her way. In December 2021, Rachel got an offer she couldn't refuse, training horses on a ranch in Queen Creek, Arizona, and living in the casita on the property.

7:18Queen Creek is only about 30 minutes from her family and Gilbert, so she'd still be nearby and get to roll out of bed and be right at work. It was really a no-brainer. The only issue was Rachel's apartment, but Rachel was a problem solver. She went to Facebook and quickly found someone willing to sublease it. Now, Rachel didn't know this woman, but Kim said that she seemed like a good, responsible person. So Rachel moved out to the ranch, this woman moved in, and things seemed to be going fine. Until they stopped paying rent. This apparently went on for a few months. So when Rachel's employment ended at the ranch in May 2022, she decided it was time to ask this woman to leave so she could move back in.

8:01She had been living on a horse ranch in Queen Creek, training horses there, and she had her her mayor out there. And then when that employment ended, she had been, as you say, subleasing an apartment that she had rented a year before in June of 21. And she had lived there for about six months until the beginning of December. And then she had this offer to go train and work horses at the ranch and live in the casita on the property so that she would be right there close to the horses all the time. So when that offer came up and she wanted to take it, she subleased her apartment to a woman, a young woman that she found on Facebook and seemed like a decent person.

9:06And so they started that agreement. Well, when her employment ended at the end of May of 22, she asked the people who apparently, I didn't know this until she told me just at that last couple of weeks of May that they had not paid rent for a couple months. And so she was having to pay that to keep the lease good, but then also asked them to move out very quickly because she wanted to move back in after she left. Despite the tenant not paying rent, it does appear that being asked to move out did come as a surprise, and she wasn't exactly thrilled with the quick transition. The apartment also just reeked of weed, and the apartment complex was getting complaints that a lot of people were coming in and out.

10:01It's never been confirmed that anyone was selling drugs out of the apartment or anything like that, but there was tension for obvious reasons. It was just a bad situation. So they did move out in a hurry on maybe like a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and then she started moving things into the apartment on Thursday. And she actually spent Thursday night in the apartment. Really all she had in there was her mattress and box springs of her king-size bed. She hadn't even put it together yet. And then just some clothes and a few things in the refrigerator. She was in the process of moving all of her belongings back into her apartment.

10:48So she spent Thursday night there and Friday night. And it was Friday night, Saturday morning that she was killed. Rachel officially moved back in on Wednesday, June 1st, 2022. But like Kim said, she really began moving her things in on Thursday. At this point, she really didn't have anything in the apartment and didn't even have a chance to change the locks. But that first night, there was a strange incident. A man entered the apartment using a key. This message is sponsored by Greenlight. Money is this invisible thread that ties us all together. It's something everyone has to deal with. That's why teaching kids about money isn't just smart, it's essential.

11:33Greenlight is a debit card and money app for families. It's a safe way to teach kids and teens about money. With Greenlight, parents can send money quickly, get spending notifications, and even assign chores. Greenlight turns responsibility into real-world learning. Kids and teens learn how to save, invest, and build money confidence. Skills that can really make all the difference in their future. If I had Greenlight growing up, maybe I would have learned that money is a tool I could use for my future. Not something to fear or fall for. Not to mention the magic of compounding interest. Give your kids the financial education many of us didn't get.

12:10Join millions of parents already using Greenlight, the number one family finance and safety app. Start your risk-free Greenlight trial today at greenlight.com slash justice. That's greenlight.com slash justice to get started. Greenlight.com slash justice.

12:30This episode is brought to you by Rakuten. If you're shopping while working, eating, or even listening to this podcast, then you know and love the thrill of a deal. But are you getting the deal and cash back? Rakuten shoppers do. They get the brands they love, savings, and cash back. And you can get it too. Stack sales on top of cash back and feel what it's like to know you're maximizing savings. It's easy to use. And you get cash back sent to you through PayPal or check. The idea is simple. The brands you love pay Rakuten for sending them shoppers. And Rakuten shares the money with you as cash back.

13:03Download the free Rakuten app or go to rakuten.com to start saving today. It's the most rewarding way to shop. That's R-A-K-U-T-E-N. Rakuten.com. Whoever came into the apartment had a key and came in for some unknown reason, set a jar of dill pickles down on the kitchen counter, went in the room, and Rachel woke up to this person, a man, looking down at her. And of course she screamed, he startled and ran out the front door of the apartment. And I asked her Friday morning when she, and I talked to her on the phone and she was telling me this, I asked her why she did not call the police. And she said, she just, she was so stunned.

13:58The first thing she did was call Jomet and he came right over to be there with her and they just tried to talk about it and figure out. And she just thought that it must have been a friend of the people that had subleased from her because they had a key to the apartment. And so she didn't feel threatened by that. When the person realized it wasn't the other girl, they took off right away. So she wasn't as afraid about that. She just thought it was odd. And then she and Jomet changed the lock on the apartment door so nobody else that might have a key could come in. It was around four in the morning, I think, three or four in the morning.

14:50And then the other thing about the lock is that because it was so early in the morning, Home Depot or any place like that that would sell a door handle with a lock. Nothing was open to go buy a lock. So they went back to his dad's house and got a lock out of the garage that just had been taken off a bathroom door and put that, installed that on the apartment door. It didn't have a key to unlock it. It only had the dead bolts at the top, so it couldn't be locked from the outside. It could only be locked from the inside. So Rachel just brushes this off as a mistake, but does what she can to immediately change the locks.

15:43It obviously wasn't a perfect solution, but it would work for now until she could coordinate with the apartment complex to get them changed again. Unfortunately, that never ended up happening. Within about 24 hours, at 2 a.m. on Saturday, June 4th, Rachel called 911 and said that someone she did not know broke into her apartment and shot her. She gives the 911 operator her address and asks them to hurry. She says that she's bleeding. The operator asks her if there's someone else with her in the apartment, but Rachel says no. Whoever did this left. They then ask Rachel if she has something nearby she can use to apply pressure to her wounds, like a clean cloth, shirt, or a towel.

16:29But Rachel says that she doesn't have anything. The operator then asks her to keep talking, and Rachel responds that she can't. About three minutes into the call, the Gilbert Police Department and Fire Department report issues mapping Rachel's address. But the Fire Department finds it quickly, and both departments arrive less than two minutes later, so they get to Rachel about five minutes after she dialed 911. In one body cam video, you can hear officers telling Rachel to stay with them. From here, she's rushed to Chandler Regional Medical Center, where surgeons work on her for hours. She'd been lying down when she was shot in her lower left abdomen, and the bullet exited through the top of her right shoulder, hitting vital organs.

17:19Despite their efforts, they couldn't save Rachel, and she was pronounced dead in the early morning hours of June 4th, just eight days before her 20th birthday. The Gilbert Police Department got to the Hanson's door around 7 a.m. to relay the news. Kim was out of town, babysitting her grandkids in Indiana, So Todd had to tell her over the phone that Rachel was gone.

17:48The Gilbert PD immediately began going door to door in the Redstone at Santan Village apartment complex. Many people were extremely cooperative and allowed police to enter and search their homes. But no one reported hearing or seeing anything. Rachel's neighbor, who was right on the other side of the wall, said that she had no idea anything happened until police came knocking at her door. Investigators also discovered that while it appeared that the apartment complex had security cameras, they were all fake, and asks for video footage from personal cameras around the complex didn't seem to turn up any new information either.

18:26Nothing was missing from Rachel's apartment, no weapon or DNA was recovered from the scene, and there were no witnesses. There was also no damage to the doorframe of the apartment, and the door itself was unlocked. Whoever did this walked in, shot Rachel once, and left.

18:50Naturally, investigators begin to look at motive. If this wasn't burglary, who may have wanted to hurt Rachel? Of course, they learn about the tension with the woman subleasing the apartment and the break-in. It definitely seems like the most obvious lead to follow at this point. I mean, she was upset, someone came into the apartment just the night before, and it seems like a lot of people were used to coming in and out of the apartment before this quick transition. They had to follow up. And the Hansons also notify the Gilbert PD of another situation. They'd had some trouble getting Rachel's horse, Dash, back from the owners of the ranch that she'd been working for.

19:29After Rachel moved out of the casita, the owners wanted the Hansons to pay $5 ,000, saying that they were owed this. After Rachel was killed, the owners of the ranch asked for an additional$2 ,500, citing unpaid vet bills for Dash. At this point, the Hansons just want whatever part of Rachel they can get back, so they paid the$7 ,500, and the owners of the ranch release Dash back to the Hansons. So the Gilbert PD gets to work investigating this potential lead. They also request warrants for Rachel's social media accounts and her cell phone, and they discover that there was another person who wasn't happy with Rachel, the father of Rachel's fiancé.

20:12Kim told me that she doesn't believe he's ever been interviewed by police, but she knows he had a negative relationship with Rachel, and according to some reporting, text her and threaten to shoot and kill her if she ever stepped on his property again. He, I don't believe, has been interviewed. He had a very negative relationship with Rachel, really beginning only in April of 22, and at one point was physically aggressive towards her, at which time she called Gilbert PD and they actually made a report and it came out in the chronology report because she had called and they they came and he had threatened to kill her so that is known that's a fact there were some disagreements involving cars and keys and all sorts of things.

21:16It was kind of a, it was a mess. He, it was a large family. They were going, the parents were going through a divorce. There was a lot of tension and being, uh, Jomet's fiance, Rachel kind of found herself in the middle of it. And, uh, he did not like that. And so in, in April, there were a couple incidents, but only one where the police were involved. So that is when the relationship turned very bad.

22:14Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus for bundled subscribers. Terms apply. It's Hulu-een on Disney Plus. Watch frightful family favorites like Hocus Pocus and Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas on Disney Plus. I am the Pumpkin King! Then take the terror to ten with a thrilling new remake of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Scream, and more with Hulu-een on Disney Plus. All these and more screaming this Halloween season with Hulu on Disney Plus. Bundle subscription required. 18+.

22:51This episode is brought to you by Cars.com. On Cars.com, you can shop over 2 million cars. That means over 2 million new car possibilities, like making space for your growing family, becoming the type of person who takes spontaneous weekend camping trips, or upgrading your commute. Wherever life takes you next, or whoever you're looking to be, there's a car for that on Cars.com. Visit Cars.com to discover your next possibility.

23:17As investigators begin conducting interviews and sifting through leads, they pretty quickly come to dead end after dead end. They say that they've interviewed everyone they could find that could be related to Rachel's apartment or the woman subleasing it from her. They tell the Hansons that the owner of the ranch had no motive to harm Rachel. While they were asking for money to release her horse Dash, it seems that they had enough money in the bank for this transaction to not be a likely motive for murder. As far as Rachel's fiancé's father, like I told you earlier, according to Kim, he's never been interviewed.

23:54After Rachel's murder, her fiancé Jomet moved in with the Hansons for a few months. Kim says he's like a son to them. When he got Rachel's engagement ring back, he sized it up to fit him so he could wear it himself, and he went to Canyon Lake Bridge, where they'd gotten their engagement photos taken every single week for a year to leave a dozen roses for Rachel. But in June 2023, he brought the roses to Rachel's parents and gave them back her ring. Even after he moved out of the Hansons' home, he'd go back to have dinner with them almost every single night. At this point, there's just no evidence to point to him being involved in Rachel's murder in any way.

24:37About a year after Rachel was killed, The Gilbert PD said that they'd exhausted all leads, and the case documents released to the public reflected that the investigation is inactive, though the police department denies this. They've released very little to the public, but again, they say that they've exhausted all leads, and that Rachel's case remains open and active. The Hansons have been pretty outspoken about their disappointment in the investigation. They've since hired a private investigator. But there's been little progress in the case. And as it stands, no persons of interest or suspects have ever been named.

25:19So what happened to Rachel Hansen? Well, like I told you earlier, like is a theme in this case. Not much is being released to the public, or even Rachel's family. They won't even release the audio of Rachel's 911 call so they can hear her last words. But according to Rachel and that 911 call, she didn't know who killed her, which leaves a few possibilities. Kim feels it's incredibly unlikely that this was a random act of violence, and that does make sense to me. Of course, sometimes there is no rhyme or reason to why people kill, but out of all the possibilities, someone walking in, going to Rachel's room, shooting her, and then running away completely at random feels the least likely.

26:07The Gilbert PD did look into the possibility that Rachel's murder might be tied to a local group of teenagers called the Gilbert Goons. They're responsible for a long list of assaults in the Gilbert and Queen Creek areas, including an assault that resulted in the death of a teenager named Preston Lord. But their string of violent crimes is believed to have begun in the fall of 2022, and it typically involved hand-to-hand combat or the use of a vehicle, not a gun. In the end, the Gilbert PD does not believe there's any connection to Rachel's case. It seems possible that someone came into the apartment looking for the woman who had previously subleased it from Rachel.

26:47Kim says the two bear a striking resemblance and since Rachel was shot lying down, it's possible that whoever did this planned on killing the other woman and not Rachel and they just couldn't tell the difference. But again, investigators said that they've exhausted all leads here and haven't named any persons of interest or suspects. Not the owners of the ranch, not the woman subleasing the apartment, any of the Gilbert goons, or the man who is going to become Rachel's father-in-law.

27:20Kim and her entire family are obviously left devastated without Rachel. They're doing everything they can to raise awareness for her case, including starting a dog rescue in her honor. It's something Rachel always wanted to do with Kim, but they never seemed to find the time. Our involvement with rescue kind of started during COVID because we needed something happy in our lives, and puppies always make people happy. And so Rachel suggested that we foster a mother dog with several puppies. So we did. And then we continued to foster for different rescues where we take in a litter of puppies or mama dog and have puppies.

28:04And Rachel just loved it so much. She just would have a hard day out riding and training and then come home and literally fall on a large dog bed and have puppies all over on top of her. And she'd curl up and go to sleep with them. So she just loved it so much. And she always asked if we could start a rescue because we disagreed with a few things that were done differently than we chose to. And she went as far as trying to come up with a name and a logo and all sorts of things. And I just always said to her, thank you, sweetheart, for your vote of confidence, but absolutely not. I didn't, I just wanted to care for puppies.