FILE 276 / 22 April 2022 / 63 MIN / express

Throw Momma In The Hole

Wolf Creek, OregonListen

The town

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It is Wolf Creek, Oregon, southwest of Eugene, an unincorporated community out in the hills. about 0:02:28

History, in brief

Town note

The Wolf Creek Inn has been there forever and is on the National Historic Register.

about 0:03:35

Town note

The inn was originally a refuge for early Oregon stagecoach pioneers heading north on the Applegate Trail; the owner prepared chicken dinners in the upstairs ballroom.

about 0:03:39

Town note

The old town, now in a state park, is being restored; the area is known for hauntings, which the show Ghost Adventures blamed on a local witch community.

about 0:07:13
All 3 history facts

Town note

The Wolf Creek Inn has been there forever and is on the National Historic Register.

about 0:03:35

Town note

The inn was originally a refuge for early Oregon stagecoach pioneers heading north on the Applegate Trail; the owner prepared chicken dinners in the upstairs ballroom.

about 0:03:39

Town note

The old town, now in a state park, is being restored; the area is known for hauntings, which the show Ghost Adventures blamed on a local witch community.

about 0:07:13

The figures, as told

All figures and comparisons, as told in 2022

Population

"about 1,695"

No direction stated.

As told in 2022 about 0:03:23

The reviews

No rated reviews

No reviews recorded.

In Oregon

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The story

Wolf Creek, Oregon, is an unincorporated community southwest of Eugene, deep in the hills at the end of winding switchback roads. At the time of the story its population was about 1,695. Its one noted landmark is the Wolf Creek Inn, a stagecoach refuge on the Applegate Trail that is on the National Historic Register, and the area has a reputation for hauntings. James notes that the surrounding logging roads are so remote that people have used them to dispose of bodies, and that a grave there could easily never be found.

Barbara Ann Hardegger was born in 1957 and was 44 in September 2001. She was six feet tall, warm and outgoing, a housekeeper at Sacred Heart Medical Center who was trusted to clean the operating rooms. She baked brownies and cinnamon rolls, gardened, made pottery and planned to open a craft shop. Neighbours described him as aloof, always wandering the yard with a beer but never drunk. John had leukaemia at five and was treated for two years.

By 2001 the marriage had run down. In July Barbara told friends she was filing for divorce. She enrolled at Lane Community College to train as a medical office specialist, lost 35 pounds, took up hiking and cycling, and talked of travel and a small craft shop. No one alleged any abuse; friends said the marriage had simply gone flat.

His police record began at 14, when he cut another pupil with a two-inch pocket knife at Churchill High School and was suspended and put on probation. Neighbours called him a holy terror, and he had spent about 18 months living at his grandmother's house a few miles away before moving back in with his father when his parents separated.

On 20 September 2001 Barbara was due to stay overnight at the house on Bally Hill Road in Eugene, on her divorce lawyer's advice, so that she could show she was spending time with her sons. A co-worker said she was reluctant to go. She drove over after work, opened the garage and walked in. They laid her on a tarp, bound her hands and legs and put her in a car.

The drive was about 30 miles but took longer than half an hour on the switchbacks. They pulled Barbara out, made her walk to the hole, stunned her again and pushed her in. She was conscious as they shovelled dirt onto her.

She did not appear at work the next day. He met deputies beside his 1993 Suburban, told them they had buried his wife alive and led them a few hundred yards through a clear cut and over an embankment to the grave. Deputies dug with their hands and uncovered a leg. A forensic technician who had been a neighbour recognised her.

The case

Murder of Barbara Ann Hardegger

Victims

Barbara Ann Hardegger (44). Housekeeper at Sacred Heart Medical Center, six feet tall, mother of two, in the middle of a divorce and planning a new career

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 22 April 2022.

Accused

Accused

Outcome

Other people

John Hardegger. Barbara and younger son, 15 at the time; had leukaemia at five
Cindy Schlecht. neighbour, described as aloof and as a holy terror
James McDaniel. Barbara's co-worker at the hospital for years
Phyllis Caston Holt. teacher at Churchill High School who taught both boys
Randall Rogers. victim of burglary who confronted him at the school football field

The timeline

  1. 1957 Barbara Ann Hardegger is bornabout 0:10:10
  2. about 1982 and Barbara marry; they have been married 19 years by 2001about 0:11:42
  3. John Hardegger, aged five, is diagnosed with leukaemia and treated for two yearsabout 0:36:29
  4. , 14 and a freshman, cuts another boy with a two-inch pocket knife; he is suspended and put on probation (Churchill High School)about 0:32:13
  5. about March 2000 has been living at his grandmother's house a few miles away for about 18 months because of trouble at home (grandmother's house)about 0:45:50
  6. July 2001 Barbara tells friends she is filing for divorceabout 0:12:37
  7. July 2001 Barbara reinvents herself: she enrols at Lane Community College to become a medical office specialist, loses 35 pounds and takes up hiking and biking (Lane Community College)about 0:19:03
  8. September 16, 2001 Barbara tells her sister on the phone that she knows her son hates her but hopes he will get over itabout 0:58:17
  9. September 19, 2001 digs a grave, finds it too shallow, fetches and the two dig it more than three feet deep (pre-dug grave off a logging road)about 0:50:17
  10. September 20, 2001 Barbara drives to the family home on her lawyer's advice to spend the night with her sons (Hardegger house)about 0:46:17
  11. September 20, 2001 In the garage pepper-sprays Barbara and stun-guns her unconscious (Hardegger house)about 0:47:39
  12. September 20, 2001 appears with nylon rope, duct tape and zip ties and they bind her on a tarp (Hardegger house)about 0:48:41
  13. September 20, 2001 They drive her about 30 miles to a logging road near Wolf Creek (pre-dug grave off a logging road)about 0:49:46
  14. September 20, 2001 They make her walk to the grave, stun-gun her again and bury her alive; holds her face down with his foot as his father shovels (pre-dug grave off a logging road)about 0:51:25
  15. September 20, 2001 cuts off a large piece of Barbara's hair before they leave her buried (pre-dug grave off a logging road)about 0:52:01
  16. September 21, 2001 Barbara fails to appear for work and her co-workers become worriedabout 0:53:02
  17. September 21, 2001 calls the Lane County Sheriff's Department and says he has done something bad and his wife is dead (Lane County Sheriff's Department)about 0:53:19
  18. September 21, 2001 meets deputies beside his 1993 Suburban, says they buried his wife alive and leads them to the grave, where they uncover a leg with their hands (pre-dug grave off a logging road)about 0:53:40
  19. September 24, 2001 Three days later a cousin comes forward with account, including the hair cutting the police had withheldabout 0:55:41
  20. A memorial vigil is held for Barbara, attended by her old co-workersabout 0:56:15

Places and phrases

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Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode