A man's search for answers ends at a popular beach town with a gruesome discovery.

Suddenly, Richard Hanchett received a call from the FBI after spending years searching for his birth mother.

""When I was asked by them, 'Have you ever heard of the Lady of the Dunes?' I replied that I had not. Since then, it has been an incredible journey," he said to Planet Chronicle Digital."

In 1974, a 37-year-old woman was found dead on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, with blunt force trauma to the skull. Her body was mutilated and unidentified, leading to her being referred to as the "Lady of the Dunes."

A true-crime docuseries on Oxygen, "The Lady of the Dunes: Hunting the Cape Cod Killer," is focusing on the case that went cold for nearly 50 years. Additionally, Hanchett wrote a memoir, "Through His Eyes," which will be published in December.

In October 2022, police solved a decades-old investigation by identifying the woman found in Provincetown dunes as Ruth Marie Terry of Tennessee. She was the biological mother of Hanchett.

Before receiving a call from the FBI, Hanchett experienced nightmares about his mother for approximately three weeks.

"The man who hit a woman from behind in the head and crushed her skull was the one who kept haunting my dreams," he said. "When the police informed me of the news, I realized that the woman must have seen something she wasn't supposed to see. The nightmare just kept repeating."

He added that he didn't want to see the pictures because he knew it would be his nightmare.

In 1958, Terry gave up her son to the Hanchett family in Michigan due to financial difficulties. For years, he longed to be reunited with her. In 2018, he took a DNA test and discovered that he was related to the Terry family. Through them, he learned that she had disappeared and was still missing.

Terry married Guy Muldavin in 1974 – months before her remains were discovered.

"According to District Attorney Robert Galibois, when Mr. Muldavin returned from the trip, he was driving what was believed to be Ms. Terry's vehicle and informed witnesses that she had passed away. Unfortunately, Ms. Terry was never seen by her family again."

Hanchett said that Terry’s family had their suspicions about Muldavin.

Hanchett stated, "Upon meeting my family, my cousin disclosed information about this individual, who I later discovered was unwell."

The docuseries revealed that Muldavin had authored a book titled "Cooking with Rump Oil," which contained unsettling images. One of its recipes, "Cape Cod Shid," seemed to suggest criminal activity. Additionally, the book featured a character with auburn hair, resembling Terry's.

The book was published two years after Terry’s murder.

After Terry was identified by police, the investigation shifted to Muldavin, an antiques dealer. He was also the prime suspect in the deaths of two of his family members in Seattle in the 1960s. Newspaper reports at the time stated that human remains were discovered in the septic tank of his home. Muldavin was eventually caught in New York City and charged with "unlawful flight."

"Everywhere he lived, someone died," said Hanchett.

Muldavin died in 2002. He was 78.

Terry's body was discovered decades ago, lying naked on a beach blanket with her hands severed and nearly decapitated. Authorities believed she was killed several weeks before her body was found.

Investigative genealogy was used to identify Terry, with DNA analysis combined with traditional genealogy research and historical records. Authorities also discovered that Terry had connections to Michigan and California, where Muldavin lived.

In 2023, authorities in Massachusetts determined that Terry was murdered by her spouse. The investigation was concluded.

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"Hanchett stated that the only question that remained unanswered was the reason behind it. Often, he felt that she had witnessed something she wasn't supposed to see. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. All the information he had gathered about Guy pointed towards him being an unethical person. He was a criminal who had previously committed a murder. This was not new to him, and it was his nature."

Hanchett stated that he is speaking out today to dispel the lingering misconceptions about his late mother.

"Hanchett emphasized that it was not true that she was a hooker, stating that she was a mother, sister, and aunt. He added that she was a beautiful person who did not deserve the treatment she received. Despite being poor and working hard her whole life, Hanchett acknowledged that it took him a long time to understand that she made the right decision for him. He emphasized that she was years ahead and stronger than he ever would have been at that age to do the right thing."

"He quietly said, "I wished I could have given her respect and dignity back.""

Hanchett responded, "It will be served," when asked about justice.

"If it had been solved earlier, my life would have been different. It wouldn't have changed the outcome for her, but for years, I didn't know if she was still alive. My family members, including my dad, uncles, aunts, and grandfather, all wondered what happened to her."

"Although I am grateful that the case was resolved, I am also disappointed because it could have been solved much earlier. Did justice prevail? I have never heard of someone being convicted posthumously. I wish the individual was still alive to experience justice."

Two weeks ago, Hanchett journeyed to Provincetown to place a stone on his mother's grave.

"For nearly 50 years, I pondered about my mother's identity. It was surreal to be standing beside her grave. I couldn't comprehend that I was finally there, with her."

The TV show "Lady of the Dunes: Hunting the Cape Cod Killer" ends on Nov. 30 at 9 p.m. on Oxygen. The Associated Press provided information for this report.