Where is Ruth Marie Terry’s son today?

Oxygen’s “Lady of the Dunes: Hunting a Cape Cod Killer” delves into one of the world’s longest unsolved cases – a mysterious 1974 murder. Ruth Marie Terrywhose remains were found after almost five long decades. The lengthy investigation finally ended in 2022. That’s when the victim’s family was informed of her tragic death, and many of them were featured in the three-part true crime documentary series. However, the main focus was on Ruth’s son, Richard Hanchett, who grew up not knowing who his mother was.

Richard Hanchett was taken in and raised by his biological mother’s guardian

Born in 1958 to Ruth Marie Terry, Richard Hanchett was raised by the family of her workplace overseer, Richard Hanchett Sr., who agreed to adopt him because she could not give him the life he deserved due to her alleged financial problems. After giving up her son, she contacted him in 1972, when he was about 13 years old. However, at this time, Richard was going through a difficult phase and was struggling with a drug overdose, which reportedly left him in a coma for around 18 days.

Growing up, he became close to his adoptive family, especially his sisters Patricia and Lisa Hanchett. So when the former was reportedly murdered by her ex-husband in 1980, he couldn’t cope. Richard Hanchett was unaware of his biological mother’s identity until 2018. When he finally took a DNA test at Ancestry, he learned that he was the son of Ruth Marie Terry, a woman who had been missing since the 1970s.

Richard Hanchett dedicated a new headstone to his late mother

It wasn’t until the FBI identified the “Lady of the Dunes” through forensic genetic genealogy in 2022 that Richard learned that the mother he had been searching for all his life had been brutally found murdered on a Provincetown beach in 1974. Identifying his mother’s remains, he contacted with her family and even attended the reunion, connecting with 55 members of Terry’s family. Following further investigation, on August 28, 2023, detectives determined that her then-husband Guy Rockwell Muldavinas the perpetrator responsible for her murder. However, because he died in 2002, he could not be brought to justice.

To say goodbye to his biological mother with dignity, Richard Hanchett set up a GoFundMe account and collected over $2,000. With the money he received, he purchased a stone for the grave of Ruth Marie Terry, which was located in the cemetery of St. Peter in Provincetown. In October 2024, he visited Provincetown with her ashes and scattered some of them on the dunes where her body was found in 1974. He also placed a new tombstone next to the previously placed stones. From what we know, she is also planning a trip to Whitwell, Tennessee to scatter the rest of her ashes in her home mountains. Richard also wants to dedicate a memorial bench to the mother he never met or knew.

Richard Hanchett lives today as a happy retiree with his loved ones

After graduating from South Lyon High School, Richard Hanchett went to Central Michigan University to obtain his bachelor’s degree. In August 1976, he got a job at General Motors as a software engineer. A few decades later, in 2015, he retired from the same company. When it comes to matters of the heart, he has been in a loving relationship with Wendy Couture, a graduate of Macomb Community College, since early 2010. Richard also maintains a close bond with his son Mason, who share a love and passion for Wendy and softball. The longtime couple is now engaged and looking forward to getting married and making their union legal.

Richard lives a retired life in Waterford, Michigan, and Wendy owns a pet grooming store called Wendy’s Wild Stylz. Being an outdoor person, he loves spending time connected with nature by clicking pictures of animals and regularly sailing his boat on Cass Lake. He has a soft spot for his grandson Jordan, with whom he also spends quality time. Chasing sunsets and making new memories are two of Richard and his fiancée Wendy’s favorite things to do together.