Murder suspect seemed 'normal' to professors

By Lynn Hotaling

"What I remember about him is that he was a good student - real typical," said WCU psychology professor Hal Herzog. "There was nothing that would have made me think he was in any way really strange."

Others around the department have similar memories of Anderson.

"He was a really bright student - they always stand out," said Robin Kowalski, another WCU psychology professor who once directed Anderson as part of an independent study project team.

"He was a bright kid. I have a vivid memory of him in one class where he sat near the front. He seemed normal. There was nothing that would have portended what allegedly happened."

"I remember him well," said department secretary JoAnn Rhinehart. "He was in the office and around a lot. As I remember, he was pleasant - nothing stood out."

Former psychology department head Bruce Henderson remembers Anderson, though he never taught him, because of conversations he had with Anderson during the time Anderson was determining his major.

"(Anderson) basically seemed fairly normal, though he was a little older than most of our students," Henderson said. Both Henderson and Rhinehart said they didn't immediately realize authorities had arrested the 1994 WCU graduate when they saw television reports Feb. 1.

"I saw him on TV Thursday night but didn't make the connection because they were using 'Krnak,'" Henderson said. "I did think he looked familiar."

"It was the weirdest feeling when I saw that picture, and I put the name with the face," said Rhinehart.

Anderson, who was arrested Feb. 1 in Milwaukee and charged with the murder of his father, created a new identity before enrolling at WCU, abandoning his birth name of Andrew Krnak.

Anderson's arrest came after law enforcement personnel positively identified remains found in December 1999 in Cullowhee's Moses Creek area as those of Al Krnak, 55, who had been missing since July 1998.

Also missing are two other family members - Krnak's wife, Donna, and younger son, Tom. The Jackson County Sheriff's Department, assisted by the Jefferson County (Wis.) Sheriff's Department, FBI agents and local rescue squad members, spent several days last week searching the area where Al Krnak's body was found.

Anderson, who was convicted more than a year ago for fraudulently obtaining student loans, has long been the primary target of Wisconsin officials' investigation into the disappearances of Al, Donna and Tom Krnac.

WCU professor Kowalski said she was contacted by Wisconsin authorities soon after the family disappeared.

"He was clearly a suspect at that point," she said.

The fact that Anderson fit in so well on campus and seemed so normal to his professors is not really surprising, Henderson said.

"Someone who's unusual won't stand out on a college campus - it's a good place to hide," Henderson said. "And a psychology major is mostly science. We don't do courses that would get people talking about personal mental health."

Anderson, who was last enrolled at WCU in 1996, remains in the Milwaukee County Jail. He is contesting extradition to Jackson County.

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