Fugitive Charged With Assault, Rape Of 61-Year-Old Retiree

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Cops say accused burglar Michael Bresnahan may have changed his appearance and could be using friends for cover.

Just after midnight on Aug. 30, 2007, cops say Michael Bresnahan broke into the home of a retired schoolteacher who had just tucked herself into bed. Authorities believe Bresnahan gained access to the Winchendon, Mass., residence by slicing the screen door open with a knife.

Cops say Bresnahan startled the single, divorced mom from her sleep and jammed his knife against her throat. Bresnahan allegedly told his victim that he only wanted money, but after two hours of torment, it appeared he wanted more.

Cops tell us that Bresnahan held his victim against her will and sexually assaulted her for hours. Police say Bresnahan left the home empty-handed. The victim's family cites this as proof that he wasn't in it for the money.

"I never thought this could happen to me," the victim told AMW correspondent Jon Leiberman. "I didn't feel I ever put myself in a position where I'd be vulnerable like that."

Her sense of unease was felt around Winchendon, a town once known for toy manufacturing.

"It was very traumatic for the entire community," she said. "People started second-guessing themselves.  I know many women who installed alarm systems." 

After his disappearance, authorities tracked Bresnahan across the country. They received information that he went to visit his two children and his ex-wife in California. By the time they moved in to grab him, they say, Bresnahan was gone.

What no one knew was that Bresnahan had met a new girlfriend, a long-haul trucker, at a truck stop in California. 

"He was hitchhiking," the woman's friend, Phelan Anderson, told AMW. "She was alone and had just lost a son. Company is always nice. He seemed really nice and funny, and she took him up here to Oregon."

He told the woman his name was Aaron Anderson.

Leiberman and AMW producer Keith Greenberg visited the town where Bresnahan tried to settle, Cottage Grove, OR, a quiet place that, geographically, resembles Winchendon, Mass.

"He was into music. She was into music," Phelan's boyfriend, Chris Thirkell, remembered. "So they kind of clicked there." 

But by April 2008 when Bresnahan first appeared on AMW, he'd apparently revealed another side of his personality. 

"His girlfriend told us he'd become abusive," said Cpl. Conrad Gagner of the Cottage Grove Police. "As a matter of fact, he beat her so badly, she was hospitalized for a few days. But she never reported this to the police."

Alaska-Bound

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Cops say accused burglar Michael Bresnahan was caught on surveillance video exiting a Wal-Mart in Springfield, Oregon after buying camping supplies.

Bresnahan's girlfriend apparently didn't see him on AMW.  But, police say, during an argument one night at a local tavern, he threatened that he was more dangerous than she'd ever realized. When she found a piece of identification with his actual identity, police say, she looked up Bresnahan on AMW.com, and learned the true story.

Authorities were alerted.  But, once again, Bresnhan had vanished.

In August, 2008, we showed you surveillance footage of Bresnahan at a Walmart in Springfield, Ore., purchasing camping equipment. His goal, according to authorities, was disappearing into the wilderness of Alaska.

Cops theorized that  Bresnahan was trying to make his way to the Pacific Crest Trail -- a trail that runs from Mexico straight to Canada.

He'd apparently purchased a pair of binoculars, noodles, and Sterno to heat up food -- items he might be using to survive on his own, including hiking in the wilderness of the Pacific Crest Trail.

As cops canvassed the area around the Walmart, more tips poured into our hotline.

AMW has learned that Bresnahan was seen hitchhiking north along the Springfield portion of Interstate I-5.

He made it as far as Seattle, police say, before doubling back to Oregon. 

"He said he wanted to make amends with his girlfriend," Gagner said.

A Town Unites

On his first day back in Cottage Grove, Phelan Anderson and Chris Thirkell spotted Bresnahan in a local Safeway supermarket. By now, they heard the story about the sexual assault in Massachusetts -- as well as his ex-girlfriend's claim about the domestic abuse -- and called the police.

The next day, Ron Marsh a worker at the a local saw mill, and his family were listening to their police scanner, when he looked out the window, and saw Bresnahan walking down the railroad tracks nearby.  

"He had his sunglasses pulled down over his face," Marsh told AMW, "like they could protect him. And I thought, 'This is crazy. 'America's Most Wanted' in Cottage Grove.'" 

The family called the police, and snapped photos of the fugitive.

Officer Carlos Jones was driving home from work when he heard about the incident, and rushed over to the scene. Police say Bresnahan was soon surrounded by other officers, as well, but ran -- all the while asking them to shoot him.

"I drove after him," Jones said. "I rolled down my window and identified myself as a police officer. I don't know what he was thinking, but he just stopped, put his hands in the air, and got down on the ground. He kept saying, 'Shoot me. Just shoot me.'"

Gagner claimed that Bresnahan expected the Cottage Grove Police to assault him. 

"When that didn't happen, he thanked us for our courtesy and professional behavior," Gagner said. "We got to the jail, and some of the inmates started to tease him for being on 'America's Most Wanted.' He just instantly exploded, using vulgar language. He asked me to let him into the cell so he could beat those guys up. I told him that wasn't going to happen.

"But I was surprised at how quickly his demeanor changed. There was no gradual escalation of mood."

In Winchendon, the victim expressed a combination of relief and gratittude toward the Oregonians who assisted in Bresnhan's arrest. 

"There are so many good people out there," she said.  "It's absolutely amazing what a stranger will do for you."

Ron Marsh wishes he could meet the victim in person and give her a hug: "I would tell her, 'Thank you for being so strong, going through what you did, and still keeping a positive outlook on life.'"

AMW Capture #1029

Bresnahan Found Guilty On 18 Charges

A Massachusetts judge sentenced convicted rapist Michael Bresnahan to a prison retirement, sending Bresnahan behind bars for a minimum of 55 years. If he lives to see the end of his sentence, Bresnahan won't taste freedom again until he's 93 years old. 

His victim, a retired school teacher in Massachusetts, wept and hugged friends after the jury delivered a guilty verdict against Bresnahan, on May 10, 2010.

It took the jury only four hours to deliberate. Bresnahan's defense had many holes in it. He made up an elaborate lie that he and the victim had consensual sex and that she made up the story because Bresnahan hustled her out of money. The victim denied ever meeting Bresnhan before the night of the August 2007 attack. 

After all of the DNA evidence and fingerprints on the window where he entered were shown in court, it was clear that Bresnahan's story was "nothing but lies," as prosecution pointed out. 

Bresnahan was found guilty on 18 charges, including home invasion, kidnapping, assault and aggravated rape. 
 

AMW Tipster Helped Lead To Fugitive's Arrest

Bresnahan was arrested on Aug. 18, 2008, when off-duty Cottage Grove Police Officer Carlos Jones found the alleged rapist walking beneath the railroad tracks near Lane and Douglass Avenue. 
 
“I was on way home and had the police radio on when I heard the dispatch call put out on Bresnahan,” Jones said. “Having just been in the office, I knew I was the closest officer to him.”
 
Jones phoned back to headquarters and set up surveillance until more officers could respond.
 
When more officers responded in marked vehicles, Bresnahan was startled, and ran.
 
“At first I wanted to let the uniformed officers respond," Jones said, "but when I noticed Bresnahan running towards an area where no other officers were I reacted."
 
When Jones identified himself as a cop, Bresnahan yelled, "Just shoot me if you want me."
 
No shots were fired, and after a short chase Bresnahan, surrendered to Jones without further incident.

Word Spread About Bresnahan's True Identity

Everyone around town knew Michael Bresnahan by his alias, Aaron Anderson, and never suspected him of being an out-of-state fugitive.

But after he got the worst kind of publicity on America's Most Wanted, word spread that 'Aaron' was really Bresnahan -- an accused rapist from Massachusetts and one of that state's most-wanted fugitives.

On August 17, 2008, Bresnahan was spotted by a tipster at a Safeway grocery store.  The tipster recognized 'Aaron' as Bresnahan from AMW, then alerted the store manager, who in turn alerted police.

By the time cops arrived, he was gone, but surveillance from the store confirmed it was Bresnahan -- and cops learned that he stole a six-pack of beer.

Cottage Grove Police, along with U.S. Marshals in Oregon, began passing out wanted posters and began casing the area in the hopes of spotting Bresnahan.

From the increased media attention and wanted posters in the area, police got several key tips that pinpointed an area where Bresnahan may have been hiding, and cops were able to move in.