Cases That Haunt Me: The Unsolved Murder of Rachel Hansen

It was just after two o'clock in the morning on June fourth, twenty twenty two, when a nine to one to one dispatcher answered a call from a terrified young woman. Nineteen year old Rachel Hanson had been shot inside her apartment in Gilbert, Arizona. Rachel told the dispatcher somewhat had broken into her apartment, she was alone, and whoever pulled the trigger was already gone. As police rushed to Rachel's apartment, they had no idea what they were about to uncover. Hey everyone, and welcome back to Case Uncovered, where we uncover some of the most compelling and lesser known true crime cases. I'm your host, John Rivera. I'm so excited to be back to a regular weekly schedule, so you can expect brand new Case Uncovered episodes every Thursday moving forward. If you've been a listener of mine for a while, then you know these cases truly stick with me. But there are some cases that stay with me in a different way. The ones that truly haunt me, especially the cases where I've had the opportunity to spend time with the people who knew and loved the victim. The ones where I've sat with their families, listened to their stories, gone through timelines, interviews, and investigative records, and tried to make sense of the questions that still haven't been answered. At some point, those cases stop feeling like stories you're covering and they start to feel personal. This is one of those cases. I first covered Rachel Hanson's case in twenty twenty four during the third season of my investigative podcast, The Unseen Truth. Throughout that investigation, I had the privilege of working directly with Rachel's family and friends, getting the opportunity to interview the people who knew and loved her most. Their willingness to share Rachel's story gave me a much deeper understanding of who she was beyond the headlines, and it's one of the reasons this case has stayed with me ever since. If you'd like to hear even more about Rachel's story, I encourage you to go back and listen to season three of The Unseen Truth, where you'll hear directly from her family, friends, and others who knew her best. But today we're taking another look at her case, because even after the years have passed, the questions surrounding Rachel's murder still remain. This is the unsolved murder of Rachel Hanson. Before we can understand what happened to Rachel, we first have to understand who she really was. Because Rachel's story didn't begin on June four, twenty twenty two, It began nearly twenty years earlier. Rachel Ann Hansen was born on June twelfth, two thousand and two, but Rachel's early years looked very different from the stable, loving home she would eventually find. Her childhood was marked by uncertainty, loss, in unimaginable trauma. When she was just three years old, her birth mother left Rachel and her younger sister, telling them she was going to the store to buy milk. She never came back. The girls eventually entered the foster care system, where Rachel would experience even more hardship. One of the most traumatic moments of her childhood happened while she was in kindergarten, when she returned home from school one day and discovered the person she was living with had passed away. For a little girl who had already experienced abandonment, it was another unimaginable loss. Rachel was placed in a child crisis center before eventually moving into another foster home. For a time, she believed she had finally found the family she would grow up with. She believed she had found her forever home. But that adoption never happened, and once again Rachel found herself starting over. But then everything changed. Kim and Todd Hanson had already adopted Rachel's biological sister a few years earlier. When they learned Rachel also needed a permanent home, they immediately knew they wanted to bring the sisters back together. Rachel met the Hanson family on Valentine's Day in two thousand and nine. Just a few months later, the adoption became official. She was only six years old. But for Rachel, this wasn't simply an adoption. It was the beginning of a new life. And with that new beginning came a decision that meant a great deal to her. When Rachel joined the Hanson family, she wanted a name that reflected the fresh start she had been given. The other children and the family all had biblical names, and Rachel wanted one too, So she chose the name Rachel Anne. It wasn't a name someone else gave her, it was a name she chose for herself, a name that symbolized hope, a new beginning, and a family she could finally call her own. Although the trauma Rachel experience during her early childhood would always be a part of her story, it never defined who she became. Instead, it helped shape a young woman who was remarkably resilient. The people who knew Rachel described her as fearless, determined, compassionate, and fiercely independent. If she set her mind to something, she was going to find a way to make it happen. One of the biggest passions in her life was horses. From the time she was a little girl, she felt completely at home around them. She loved the hard work that came with caring for them, the early mornings, the long days, the responsibility. For Rachel, it never felt like work. It was exactly where she wanted to be. As she got older, that passion became more than just a hobby. It became her dream. Rachel wanted to build a career working with horses. She dreamed of training them, helping others, and one day owning a business of her own. She wasn't waiting for that dream to happen someday, she was already working toward it. Motivated, ambitious, and constantly looking for ways to build the future she envisioned for herself, Rachel wasn't afraid to chase big dreams. Around that same time, her life changed again when she met a horse named Dash. The bond between Rachel and Dash was immediate. To most people, Dash was just a horse, but to Rachel, he was family. She poured countless hours into caring for him, training him, and building a relationship rooted in trust. Anyone who saw them together could tell they shared something special. Dash wasn't just a part of Rachel's dream, he was at the center of it. As Rachel grew older, that little girl who once had the dream of owning a horse never lost sight of what she wanted. What started as a childhood passion became her full blown career. She spent years learning everything she could about horses, teaching riding lessons, training horses, and building a business around the thing she loved most. By the spring of twenty twenty two, it finally felt like everything she had worked so hard for was finally coming together. Rachel was engaged to her longtime boyfriend Joe Matt After the two became engaged just a few months earlier in January. She had built a successful business doing what she loved and had recently earned her real estate license so she could help clients find properties with enough land for horses and livestock. For Rachel, this wasn't just another accomplishment, it was another step toward the future she had been working so hard to build. Then another opportunity came along. Rachel accepted a position at a ranch in Queen Creek, Arizona. The opportunity allowed her to live on the property while training horses, and naturally, Dash made the move with her. For someone who had spent years pouring everything she had into horses, it felt like exactly where she was supposed to be now. The first few months went well. Rachel was doing what she loved every day, she was gaining valuable experience and continuing to grow her business. But toward the end of May twenty twenty two, everything changed. While loading one of the horses into a trailer, Rachel suffered a serious accident that left one of her fingers completely shattered. For someone whose livelihood depended on riding and training horses, it was a significant setback. As Rachel was trying to recover from that injury. Another challenge surfaced. A horse trade she had been helping coordinate for the ranch ultimately fell through. According to the information gathered during my original investigation, the combination of those events ultimately led to Rachel's employment at the ranch coming to an unexpected end. For Rachel, the news was devastating. In what felt like the blink of an eye, the opportunity she had and so excited about was gone. The future she'd been building suddenly felt uncertain, and as difficult as losing the job was, it wouldn't be the hardest thing Rachel would lose. Losing her job at the ranch was more than just a professional setback for Rachel. It felt like the ground beneath her had suddenly disappeared. She had poured so much of herself into that opportunity, and now it was gone. The emotional toll became overwhelming. Not long after losing her job, Rachel made the difficult decision to check herself into a mental health facility so she could focus on getting the support she needed. It wasn't a sign of weakness. It was a young woman recognizing that she was struggling and taking an important step toward getting better. While Rachel was receiving treatment, her family stepped into help. Her father, Tod, went to the ranch to pack up Rachel's belongings and move them back to the family's home in Gilbert. After loading everything up, there was only one thing left to bring home, Dash. Todd hooked up the horse trailer and headed b to the ranch, expecting to bring Rachel's beloved horse home. Before arriving, he sent a message to the ranch owners letting them know he was on his way. The response he received, though, caught him completely off guard. They told him there was no reason to come, that Dash was no longer on the property, and if the Hanson family wanted to know anything more, they would need to contact the ranch's attorney. For Todd, the message made little to no sense. He had just been at the ranch gathering Rachel's belongings, nothing had suggusted, Dash had been moved. Now suddenly Rachel's horse had disappeared, and no one was willing to explain where he was or why. The family was left with more questions than answers. Where was Dash, Why had he been removed from the property, and why involve an attorney over a horse that belonged to Rachel. Those questions only became more troubling as the days went on. Before long, the Hanson family learned that the ranch owners were refusing to return Dash. According to the family, they claimed Rachel owed them money connected to a horse trade that had fallen through while she was working at the ranch. In order to get Dash back, they demanded thousands of dollars. Rachel was devastated. Dash wasn't simply a horse. He had been part of her life for years. He was her partner, her responsibility, and one of the deepest connections she had. Now, while she was trying to recover emotionally from everything that had happened over the previous few weeks, she was suddenly fighting to get him back. Todd immediately contacted the family's attorney to determine what legal options they had, while Rachel began reaching out to the community through social media, hoping someone had seen Dash or knew where he had been taken. The Hansoon family was prepared to do whatever they needed to do to bring him home, but with every passing day, the situation became more complicated, and while Rachel and her family focused their energy on finding Dash, another challenge was waiting, one that would force Rachel to make yet another fresh start. As Rachel continued searching for Dash, life didn't stop. Bills still had to be paid, boxes still had to be unpacked, and somehow she had to figure out what came next. Even after everything that had happened over the previous few weeks, Rachel wasn't ready to give up on the future she'd work so hard to build. She was still determined to get Dash back. She was still rebuilding her business, and she was still planning a life with Joemett. To move forward, Rachel decided it was time to move back into her apartment in Gilbert. She had rented the apartment a few years earlier after graduating high school early. It gave her the independence she wanted while still keeping her close to her family. When Rachel accepted the position at the ranch in Queen Creek, she no longer needed the apartment full time. Rather than giving it up completely, she chose to sublease it to another young woman she had connected with her Facebook. At the time, it seemed like the perfect solution. Rachel could pursue the opportunity at the ranch while holding onto the apartment in case she ever needed it again. Now that time had come, the tenant agreed to move out, and, according to the information available, the transition happened quickly. There was no publicly reported disputes, no arguments, no indication that anything was wrong. Rachel simply wanted to start over. She could have moved back in with her parents. They would have welcomed her home without hesitation, but that's not who Rachel was. She had always been fiercely independent. She wanted to build her own life, and with a wedding on the horizon, she and Jamette were looking forward to building that future together. By the beginning of June, Rachel was slowly settling back into the apartment. Boxes still filled the rooms. Much of her belongings remained unpacked, but little by little it was beginning to feel like home again. Then, during the early morning hours of June's second something happened that Rachel couldn't explain. According to later investigative reports, Rachel woke up to find a man's standing inside her apartment near her bed. Startled, she screamed, the man immediately fled. Afterward, Rachel noticed something strange. A jar of pickles had been taken from the refrigerator and left sitting on the kitchen counter. It was an unsettling detail and really strange, one that made the entire encounter feel even more disturbing. Although nothing appeared to have been stolen, Rachel no longer felt safe in her own apartment. Concerned for her safety, Jomette installed a new dead bolt on the front door. The hope was simple that whatever had happened that night was over. At the time, no one had any reason to believe the break in was connected to what would happen just two days later. Investigators would later examine that incident closely as they worked to determine whether it was an isolated burglary or the first sign that someone had been watching Rachel. For Rachel, it was one frightening night, one she believed she had survived. She had no way of knowing, though, that she was about to walk into the final chapter of her life. By Friday, June third, twenty twenty two, Rachel was trying to move forward. The previous two weeks had tested her in ways she never could have imagined. She had lost her job, she was fighting to get dashed back. Still, she had moved out of the ranch and back into her apartment, and just two days earlier, someone had broken into that apartment while she slept. It was frightening, but with a new dead bolt installed and the support of the people she loved most, Rachel was doing everything she could to move forward. That Friday evening, she spent time with Joe Met. The two went out to dinner before returning to Rachel's apartment complex, where they relaxed by the pool for a while. Later, they went back inside the apartment and settled in to watch a movie together. It was an ordinary evening, the kind of evening neither of them would think twice about. Around nine o'clock that night, Rachel received a phone call from her mom, Kim. At the time, Kim was in Indiana visiting family. The conversation was filled with excitement. Rachel told her mom she was finally getting settled back into the apartment and couldn't wait to finish unpacking. Kim planned to return home on Sunday and help her get everything organized. Neither of them realized this would be the last time they would ever speak. Although Rachel was exhausted, she was eager to continue unpacking. She didn't want to wait until Sunday. She carried her mattress and box bring into the bedroom and placed them on the floor. The apartment still wasn't fully furnished. Boxes lined the walls. Personal belongings were scattered throughout the rooms. It wasn't perfect, but after everything she'd been through, it finally felt like she was beginning to rebuild. Sometime around midnight, Joe Matt got ready to head home. Before leaving, he reminded Rachel to lock the door behind him. It was the kind of reminder that probably seemed even more important after the frightening break in just two nights or wad. Rachel walked him to the door, locked the new dead bolt behind him, and got ready for bed. She believed she was safe. She had no reason to think otherwise, But just after two am on June fourth, that sense of security was shattered. A frantic nine to one one call came in to Gilbert Police. The caller was nineteen year old Rachel Hanson. She told the dispatcher someone had broken into her apartment and that she'd been shot. Despite suffering a gunshot wound to her abdomen, Rachel stayed on the phone with the dispatcher as long as she could. She repeatedly pleaded for help to hurry. The dispatcher worked to keep Rachel talking while officers and paramedics raced to the apartment, but with every passing moment, Rachel's voice grew weaker. Help was coming, but Rachel was running out of time. Within minutes, Gilbert police officers and emergency responders arrived at Rachel's apartment. Despite the severity of her injuries, Rachel was still alive. Paramedics immediately began treating her at the scene before rushing her to a nearby hospital. As emergency crews worked to save her life, investigators remained at the apartment, beginning what would become one of the most complex homicide investigations Gilbert Police had faced in recent years. While all of this was unfolding, Rachel's family had no idea. Kim was still in Indiana. Just a few hours earlier, she had spoken with her daughter about unpacking boxes and starting over. Todd was home in Arizona, believing Rachel was settling into her new apartment after an incredibly difficult few weeks. Then everything changed. The Hansoon family received the phone call no parents should ever have to answer. Rachel had been shot almost immediately, the family made their way to the hospital, desperately hoping they would arrive in time. For hours, there was hope. Doctors worked tirelessly to save Rachel's life. Her family waited, prayed, and held onto the belief that somehow Rachel would survive, But despite every effort, her injuries were simply too severe. Just hours after placing that desperate nine to one one call, Rachel Hanson had died. For the Hanson family, the loss was impossible to comprehend. Just days earlier, Rachel had been making plans for the future, planning her wedding, moving back into her apartment, trying to rebuild after one setback after another. Now the future had been stolen. As Rachel's loved once began grieving the unimaginable, detectives turned their attention to the apartment. Every inch of the scene was carefully documented. Evidence was collected, photographs were taken, neighbors were interviewed. Investigators worked to reconstruct every moment leading up to Rachel's nine to one one call. Very quickly, they realized this wasn't going to be a simple investigation. According to investigators, there were no obvious signs of forced entry. The apartment had not been ransacts. Nothing suggested this was a robbery gone wrong. Instead, the scene raised a ton of questions. Who entered Rachel's apartment that night, how did they get inside, Why was Rachel targeted? Or was she the intended target at all. As detectives began retracing Rachel's final weeks, they quickly realized there wasn't just one possible avenue to investigate. There were several. Each one would require investigators to separate documented fact from speculation. One of the first areas detectives examined was Rachel's recent employment at the ranch. By the time of her death, Rachel's relationship with the ranch had deteriorated significantly. She had lost her job, she was involved in an ongoing dispute over dash, and according to her family, there were disagreements surrounding money connected to the failed horse trade. Given those circumstances, investigators interviewed individuals connected to the ranch and explored whether any part of that conflict could have played a role in Rachel's murder. To date, however, no one connected to the ranch has been publicly charged or identified as a suspect. Investigators also took a closer look at the apartment Rachel had only recently moved back into. During the months she lived and worked at the ranch, we know Rachel had subleased the apartment to another young woman she connected with through Facebook. As detectives interviewed neighbors, they learned of reports describing frequent traffic in and out of the apartment during that time. Some neighbors alleged that individuals associated with the previous tenant may have been involved in the legal drug activity. Now it's important to emphasize that those allegations have never been publicly substantiated, though even so, investigators had a responsibility to determine whether someone connected to the apartment's prior occupants could have mistakenly believed the previous tenant still lived there, or whether Rachel had unknowingly crossed paths with someone connected to that environment. Detectives also revisited the unsettling break in that occurred just two days before Rachel was killed. As you remember, Rachel woke up to find a man inside her apartment, although he fled after she screamed, and nothing appeared to have been stolen. Investigators examined whether that incident was connected to the homicide or whether it was simply a tragical incidence. Another documented incident investigators reviewed involved an encounter approximately six weeks before Rachel's murder between Rachel and Jomette's father. According to a police report, Rachel alleged that he physically pulled her from a vehicle and threatened to kill her if he ever saw her again. As with every significant event leading up to Rachel's death, detectives investigated the incident thoroughly. However, law enforcement has never publicly identified Jomette's father as a suspect, and there is no publicly available evidence connecting him to Rachel's murder. But one of the most frustrating aspects of Rachel's case is how much remains unknown. Gilbert police have released very little information about the physical evidence collected from the apartment. They have never publicly identified the murder weapon, they have never announced a person of interest, and they've never publicly disclosed what they believe the motive may have been. That lack of information has understandably fueled years of speculation online, but speculation is an evidence. Investigators can't make an arrest based on theories or assumptions. They must be able to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. Today, four years after Rachel's murder, the investigation remains open. Rachel's family continue searching for answers, friends continue honoring the life of a young woman who should have had decades ahead of her, and luckily, Dash was located and given back to Rachel's family. Investigators continue hoping that someone somewhere holds the missing piece of this puzzle, because that's often how cases like this are solved, not through one dramatic breakthrough, but through one person deciding to come forward. For Rachel's family, that day cannot come soon enough. Rachel Hanson was only nineteen years old. She was a daughter, a sister, a fiancee, a woman who spent years chasing the dream she'd work so hard to achieve. She was rebuilding her life, planning a wedding, looking forward to settling back into her apartment, and still holding on to hope that one day she would bring Dash home. Instead, her life was stolen in the early morning hours of June fourth, twenty twenty two. Now four years later, the question that mattered most that morning still hasn't been answered. Who killed Rachel Hanson. Rachel's legacy didn't end the day she was killed. Determined to honor her daughter's life, Kim founded Rachel's Rescue, turning unimaginable grief into a mission of compassion and hope. Through the organization, Rachel's love for animals continues to live on, helping countless animals in need while ensuring Rachel's memory continues to make a difference. At the same time, Rachel's family has never stopped searching for answers. They continue to share Rachel's story, advocate for justice, and hold on to hope that the person responsible will one day be held accountable. If you have any information about the murder of Rachel Hansen, you can contact the Gilbert Police Department at four eight zero five zero three six five zero zero. If you'd prefer to remain anonymous, you can contact Silent Witness at four eight zero nine four eight six three seven seven. Sometimes it's the smallest detail, a memory, a conversation, or something that didn't seem important at the time that becomes the missing piece. Investigators, I've been searching for Her family deserves answers, and if you know something, say something. Before we wrap up today's episode, I just want to thank you for being here. And for listening to Rachel's story. My goal has always been to create a space where we can dig a little deeper, ask better questions, and never lose sight of the people behind every story. If Rachel's story resonated with you today, I hope you'll share this episode. You never know who might hear it, recognize a detail, or have the piece of information that could finally help bring Rachel's family the answers they've been waiting for. If you'd like to continue the conversation or stay up to date in the cases I cover, be sure to follow me on social media at Jen Rivera Investigates on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. You can also learn more about my nonprofit, the Reignited Project, and the work we're doing to support families of the missing and murdered by visiting the Reignited Project dot com and if you enjoy Case Uncovered. One of the best ways you can support the show is by following the podcast wherever you listen and leaving a five star rating and review. It truly helps more people discover these stories and keeps the focus where it belongs on the victims, their families, and the pursuit of justice. Until next time, stay curious, stay vigilant, and stay safe out there. Fireeyes Media,