Six-year-old Cassie Hansen was abducted from a church stairwell in St. Paul, Minnesota, on the night of November 10, 1981, and found strangled and sexually assaulted in a dumpster the next morning. Her killer was Stuart Knowlton, a 57-year-old St. Paul cab driver, who was convicted of first-degree murder in 1983 and died in prison in 2006. The Cassie Hansen murder was solved largely because a civilian informant, Dorothy Noga, drew a confession out of Knowlton and survived his attempt to kill her.
What Happened to Cassie Hansen
On the evening of November 10, 1981, Cassandra “Cassie” Lynn Hansen was at a day care Christmas program for her younger sister at Jehovah Evangelical Lutheran Church in St. Paul.1CBS News Minnesota. Cassie Hansen Investigators Honored Between about 6:50 and 7:00 p.m., she left the group to find a bathroom and did not come back.2ForensicFilesNow. Cassie Hansen Abducted in Church She was taken from a stairwell inside the church.
The next morning, November 11, her body was found in a dumpster behind an auto repair shop near Grand Avenue and Grotto Street.3Star Tribune. Informant, Retired Officers Recognized for Solving St. Paul Girl’s 1981 Murder She had been strangled, possibly with a belt, and sexually assaulted.4Fox 9. St. Paul Officers Honored for Role in Solving 1981 Child Murder Case She had also been beaten about the head and face, a fact investigators held back from the public to use later as a test of any suspect’s knowledge.5ForensicFilesFiles. Stuart Knowlton – Kidnapping and Murder of Cassie Hansen
How Investigators Focused on Stuart Knowlton
Stuart Knowlton drove a St. Paul cab. On the night of the murder his dispatchers noticed he had gone silent on the radio and failed to turn in his trip sheets, which drew early attention.6ForensicFilesNow. Cassie Hansen – Forensic Files Now FBI profiler John Douglas described the likely offender as a loner with a history of child sex offenses who would remain fixated on the crime and might keep a souvenir.5ForensicFilesFiles. Stuart Knowlton – Kidnapping and Murder of Cassie Hansen
Physical evidence tied Knowlton to the victim. A hair recovered from Cassie’s clothing carried an unusual banded pattern called pili annulati. FBI hair analyst Al Robillard identified the trait, and it matched Knowlton’s hair.6ForensicFilesNow. Cassie Hansen – Forensic Files Now DNA testing and cell phone data were not available to investigators at the time, so hair analysis and witness testimony carried the case.
The Informant Who Broke the Case
Dorothy Noga worked at a St. Paul massage parlor and became a police informant in the months after the murder. Knowlton confessed the killing to her on November 11, 1981, though that confession was not recorded.1CBS News Minnesota. Cassie Hansen Investigators Honored He confessed to her again by phone on a separate occasion and also tried to use her to build an alibi.6ForensicFilesNow. Cassie Hansen – Forensic Files Now
Janice Rettman, then the head of St. Paul’s public housing, recorded a conversation in which Knowlton described injuries to Cassie’s head and face that police had never released.5ForensicFilesFiles. Stuart Knowlton – Kidnapping and Murder of Cassie Hansen Knowing those hold-back details placed him inside the crime.
The Attempt on Dorothy Noga’s Life
On December 13, 1981, Knowlton attacked Noga at the Comfort Massage Studio in St. Paul, stabbing her 32 to 36 times in the neck, throat, and buttocks and slashing her throat.3Star Tribune. Informant, Retired Officers Recognized for Solving St. Paul Girl’s 1981 Murder7Twin Cities Pioneer Press. Cops, Woman Who Helped Find Little Girl’s Killer Honored She survived. Officer Pat Scott was first on the scene and kept her alive by applying pressure to her wounds. Noga later identified Knowlton as her attacker under hypnosis.2ForensicFilesNow. Cassie Hansen Abducted in Church
The St. Paul Police Department knew Noga was actively gathering information from Knowlton but did not protect her on the night of the attack. In 1991, the city paid her $50,000 to settle her claim over that failure.7Twin Cities Pioneer Press. Cops, Woman Who Helped Find Little Girl’s Killer Honored
Conviction and Death in Prison
Knowlton was charged roughly ten months after the attack on Noga.3Star Tribune. Informant, Retired Officers Recognized for Solving St. Paul Girl’s 1981 Murder He waived a jury trial, and Judge James Lynch heard the case. In 1983 Knowlton was convicted of first-degree murder and second-degree criminal misconduct and sentenced to life in prison.5ForensicFilesFiles. Stuart Knowlton – Kidnapping and Murder of Cassie Hansen Noga’s testimony was central to the conviction.1CBS News Minnesota. Cassie Hansen Investigators Honored
He served 23 years and died of natural causes behind bars in 2006.5ForensicFilesFiles. Stuart Knowlton – Kidnapping and Murder of Cassie Hansen
How the Case Is Remembered
Cassie’s aunt, Kathy White, said the crime “changed the city.”1CBS News Minnesota. Cassie Hansen Investigators Honored A plaque in her memory was placed inside Jehovah Evangelical Lutheran Church.
On December 13, 2017, 36 years to the day after the attack on Noga, St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell held a ceremony at the department’s Western District office and said the department was “decades overdue in recognizing these true heroes.”7Twin Cities Pioneer Press. Cops, Woman Who Helped Find Little Girl’s Killer Honored He gave the Chief’s Award for Merit to Dorothy Noga, retired officer Pat Scott, retired sergeant Rick Klein, and retired officer Jim Groh, the last two for responding to the original report of Cassie’s disappearance and developing early leads.3Star Tribune. Informant, Retired Officers Recognized for Solving St. Paul Girl’s 1981 Murder Cassie’s family attended.
The case was later featured on Forensic Files in an episode titled “Church Disappearance,” Season 6, Episode 10.5ForensicFilesFiles. Stuart Knowlton – Kidnapping and Murder of Cassie Hansen