Then, on Wednesday, Oct. 2, the womans body was found along Turnagain Arm, near the Rainbow trailhead. But its workload is growing more quickly just between the 2017 and 2018 fiscal years, it saw a 16 percent increase in felony cases statewide, according to data the agency has presented to the Legislature. Market data provided by Factset. Brian Smith . Tracy Hansen and her dog, Gunner, were walking on the sidewalk in Anchorage, Alaska, when she was suddenly knocked to the ground, she told NBC . Michelle Theriault Boots is a reporter who covers news and features about life in Alaska, and has been focusing on corrections and psychiatric care issues in the state. [9][12] She stood between 4 ft 11 in and 5 ft 3 in, and her hair color ranged from light brown to strawberry-blond. Other witnesses described seeing a bloody man threatening to jump off the ship. The Anchorage office is expected to open on August 27. In response, he chased after her, grabbed her by the hair and tripped her to the ground. Kyle Hopkins and Nat Herz, Anchorage Daily News and Alaska Public Media. On that day, close to midnight, 48-year-old Charles Doubek called 911 and told dispatchers his wife had been shot, according to a version of events relayed in an affidavit by Alaska State Trooper investigator Jason Fieser. Smith is originally from South Africa. Police say the majority of the deaths fall into the same tragic but predictable circumstances that thread through homicides every year: domestic violence, personal disputes escalated by a weapon, robberies gone bad. On Christmas Day, the people who loved Lucas Moren gathered in the alley behind the Gaslight. According to Hansen, Eklutna Annie had been wearing blue jeans, a sweater, and a brown leather jacket. Throughout 2016, Ritchie murdered upwards of five individuals in and around Anchorage, Alaska, most of whom were in parks or along bike paths. Nearly a week prior, on Sept. 30, someone called Anchorage Policeclaiming to have "an SD card containing a video of a homicide," according to a press release from authorities. All rights reserved. He also allegedly told authorities that he and Brehmer discussed killing another person, but the plan was abandoned, and he admitted to blackmailing Brehmer into raping people. All but one of the victims in those cases were female. Witnesses say she was travelling with her children. Moren, a patron at the bar, was shot and killed in the alley as the bar was closing early in the morning on Dec. 24. The graphic videos show a woman being strangled and a mans voice saying justdie, the Associated Press reported. And he blamed the dysfunction not on managers but on spending plans and policy decisions made by Alaska governors and lawmakers over the years, and continuing to this day. The Public Defender Agencys budget, meanwhile, has grown by 9 percent in the past two years. Officers arrested Brian Steven Smith, 48, Tuesday afternoon, an Anchorage Police Department statement said. The callertold police the memory card was found layingin the middle of the street in the Fairview neighborhood of Anchorage. He also told them hehad shot another woman and revealed where he dumped her body. In September, the death of a man in the middle of a busy intersectionshut down anelementary school and a middle schoolwhile police investigated the killing. 2022 Anchorage Daily News. Legal Statement. For all the good the internet can do, it can be a very dark place, Bryan Schroder, the U.S. attorney in Alaska, said at a news conference Tuesday. Alaska emergency officials issued an AMBER Alert for 8-month-old boy Ahmiri Chaney on Feb. 17, 2023. . The district covers an enormous and geographically diverse swath of Alaska, from the woodsy Alaska-Canada border in the Interior to the Bering Sea coast. This week, Brian Smith, 48, was charged with first-degree murder in the case, the Anchorage Police Department said in a Wednesday statement. A woman in Alaska was walking her dog when a moose charged her from behind and kicked her in the head, according to shocking video captured by a bystander. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Detectives saythey have a "good understanding" of what happened and who was involved in each of those cases. The death on Tuesday night triggered a lockdown of the 3,400-passenger ship. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. 2022 Anchorage Daily News. He told Anchorage District Court Judge Brian Clark that he had about $2,000 in total saved. Clark asked that he be appointed a public defender and set his bail at $500,000 cash appearance bond and a $250,000 cash performance bond. A 48-year-old Anchorage man was charged with murder after someone found a digital card containing dozens of videos and photos that authorities say show him beating and killing a woman in a. ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Seven Cold Case Task Force offices across the nation, dedicated to solving cold cases involving missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives, are opening in the next few weeks, one expected to open in Anchorage. McIntosh, who is being tried as an adult in the case, was the gunman, prosecutors say. According to the bail memo, Alaska State Troopers earlier this year recovered a skull with a gunshot wound in an area near the location Smith later provided. She had hit the wall, an acting supervisor later told the judge. [n 2], The remains of Eklutna Annie are interred at the Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery, under a marker reading "Jane Doe / Died 1980".[21][22]. Don't kill me!" Advocate for missing and murdered women, reflecting on the ongoing efforts to identify Eklutna Annie[18], Eklutna Annie remains unidentified. New documents from Ritchie'stime at community collegein Virginiapresent a portrait of a striving engineering student whose work was so good that a professor wrote in a 2013 letter of recommendation that he gradedRitchie's exams first and used them as the test's key. "In the fog and the white light, I saw him walking down the alley," Marcy said. According to police, the arrest came after someone reported finding a digital storage device containing video of the killing. Legal Statement. More than a few cases seem to trace back to a personal slight or insult that escalated into violence, said Lt. John McKinnon, head of APD's homicide unit. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. The caller told police the memory card had been found laying in the middle of the street of an Anchorage neighborhood. I was the only one there, I did that, I killed her, he told investigators, according to the charges. The remarks by the veteran judge came in a 37-page order to delay the murder trial of Alexie Walters, a man accused of beating his girlfriend, Gertrude Queenie, to death in 2017 in Mountain Village, on the Yukon River in Southwest Alaska. Making the decision to leave, to start the processes for divorce or anything like that, that definitely would escalate the situation and increase lethality for that victim, Pearson said. Her family was not contacted and her items were removed from her cabin. Zaz Hollander is a veteran journalist based in the Mat-Su and is currently an ADN local news editor and reporter. Anchorage police identified thesecond victim as Veronica Abouchuk. Hansen specifically stated she was his first murder victim. Ritchie was killed during a shootout with police officers in downtown Anchorage on November 12, 2016. The memory card found along road shows an Anchorage man assaulting and killing woman. "I'd say a great number of our citizens don't engage in any activity that's considered dangerous.". Thim declined to say anything about the other investigation, or whether Smith is a suspect in other crimes. Digital evidence and statements show Brehmer was communicating with and sending videos and/or photographs of the events surrounding the incident to Schilmiller at his directive through the duration of the event, documents say. Brehmer then enlisted the help of four friends, including 19-year-old Caleb Leyland, 16-year-old Kayden McIntosh and two other unnamed juveniles, to plan and carry out the murder at Schilmillers direction, according to the documents. "We haven't found evidence that anyone other than Ritchie is involved.". This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. According to Hansen, he persuaded Eklutna Annie to help him winch his pickup free from the mud, although when he began to drive his vehicle free, Eklutna Annie attempted to run. Police have not yet pointed to any known motive in the cases where Ritchie is identified as a suspect. Police did not say why the SD card was in the street, but they believe Smith recorded the images himself, according to the AP. Incident happened aboard the Emerald Princess cruise ship (file picture), Harry: I always felt different to rest of family, Inside the enclave surrounded by pro-Russia forces, US-made cheese can be called 'gruyere' - court, Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, Why Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry, Canadian grandma helps police snag phone scammer. (Google). Nine months and a long Arctic winter have come and gone since the abduction, sexual assault and murder of 10-year-old Ashley Johnson-Barr in the northwest Alaska hub community of Kotzebue.. Signs . Smith had registered a room at the TownePlace Suites by Marriott the night the video was taken, according to the affidavit. The SD card, reportedly discovered lying in the street in an Anchorage neighborhood, was labeled homicide at midtown Marriott and contained graphic, time-stamped images and video recordings of a man beating and choking a naked woman, according to charging documents. A man has been arrested in connection to the murder of a woman aboard a cruise ship off the coast of Alaska, police say, in what has been described as a "domestic disturbance". 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. MacDonald wrote that in addition to the Mountain Village case, hes overseeing two other homicide trials and a sexual assault case that have all been significantly delayed due to a public defender withdrawing late into the case.. Anna Bill, a former Mountain Village police officer honored by the Alaska Federation of Natives for her advocacy on behalf of Alaska Native women and children, said the homicide was devastating for the victims family. "That's what's been fascinating.". Troopers: Wasilla woman killed, husband charged with her murder, 2023 Iditarod pre-race coverage and Ceremonial Start, Melissa Fry has the forecast for the Iditarod restart in Willow, Animal rights group PETA continues targeting Iditarod sponsors. They are unwilling to share details of crimes in which charges have not been filed. An Alaska resident found a stray SD card lying on the street in late September and discovered gruesome content inside: images and video of a woman appearing to be assaulted and murdered. Cynthia Hoffman. According to the charges, his mother called to report the attack and Walters fired a shotgun when two Village Police Officers attempted to approach him. [1], "Identifying [Eklutna Annie] means that no matter how you lived, whatever circumstances that you are in, that even after death, there is an equality here. The judges order describes a disparity in the next phase of the criminal justice system the one that begins after a suspect is arrested and the clock starts ticking toward a timely resolution for defendant and victim. If you or someone you know is struggling with a substance use disorder, help is available. She disappeared without a trace. Michelle Theriault Boots is a reporter who covers news and features about life in Alaska, and has been focusing on corrections and psychiatric care issues in the state. Could a bigger prize and more races boost interest? He was unable to "remember whether she was a prostitute or [a] dancer", although he did state he believed she was from Kodiak, Alaska. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. In February 2017, 37-year-old Brandy Sullivan, an Alaska Airlines customer-service agent who lived in an upscale Anchorage suburb, was allegedly shot and killed by her estranged husband.. ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Clayton Andrew Charlie, who pleaded guilty in 2019 to second-degree murder in the stabbing death of a groundskeeper at the Alaska Zoo, has been sentenced to 55 years in prison. Doubek and Gardner shared a home in a Wasilla neighborhood off of Snowshoe Lane. Veronica Abouchuck, left, and Kathleen Henry. (Loren Holmes / ADN). The images showed a naked woman being beaten on the floor of a hotel room, according to the affidavit. In an unusual order, an Alaska judge has declared a crisis in the states courts, saying that turnover among public defenders is delaying criminal trials and denying justice for victims and defendants alike. [8] He died in prison in August 2014. Passengers told CBS News that a "murder mystery" theme dinner had been taking place when the incident occurred, and several passengers first confused the crime for a hoax. State prosecutors say Darin Lee Jones, 54, and Shawn Michael Phillips, 52, killed Patricia Phelps, 48, in Anchorage's Spenard neighborhood in 2017. Born in Montana but raised in Alaska, Duke married, raised three children and worked jobs including as a teachers aide. There has been some suggestion by family members out-of-state that he had recently showed signs of mental illness, McKinnon confirmed, but added, "I don't think we have any concrete evidence to support that.". More officers on the streets as with arecently addeddowntown foot patrol,members of which made an arrest in Moren's murder onChristmas Eve make streets safer. The trial has been delayed at least 15 times at the request of the defense, according to MacDonalds order. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. He warned Metzger against scurrying around in district court, spending time on lesser felony cases instead of the homicide case, according to her motion. In the Lower 48, gangs are more organized and act as outside-the-law businesses, pushing drugs and weapons in defined territories. After troopers arrived, Doubek was given first aid and taken to a hospital. The motion filed by Walters new public defender, Julia Metzger, cited MacDonalds comments in hearings over the summer, including remarks about the public defender agency neglecting clients and accusing its attorneys of complete abandonment and total disregard of professional responsibilities., Metzger said MacDonald launched into a 17-minute diatribe at a July 18 hearing, during which he predicted the public defender agency might continue to delay the Mountain Village homicide trial until 2020. [1], Last edited on 18 February 2023, at 21:52, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, "Eklutna Annie: Put The Focus Back on Me! The Anchorage Police Department has identified the victim as Kathleen J. Henry, 30, according to a statement released Thursday afternoon. Police point at recent hiring of new officers as an effort to make the city safer. According to the affidavit, the couple had separate bedrooms. (Bob Hallinen / Alaska Dispatch News). Police have only definitively named him as the gunman in one killing, that of Treyveon Thompson on July 29. When a composite sketch of the man suspected in the death of TreyveonThompson was released, more than 190 people called in tips, McKinnon said. "They are engaging in this behavior where maybe a mature person would say, 'I'd never do that,' but to the people involved this is real stuff to them disrespect. Photos apparently show the woman underneath a blanketon a hotel luggage cart near a truck and in the truck bed, per the document. Her fiance was killed. Brian Steven Smith is arraigned Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019 on a charge of first-degree murder at the Anchorage Jail courtroom. A 19-year-old from Anchorage, Alaska, was allegedly killed by her best friend and several other teen accomplices after they were promised millions of dollars for video evidence of the killing by a man who had catfished them. A memorial for James Lucas Moren in an alley behind the Gaslight Bar on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016. Hoffman, 19, died from a gunshot wound to the. Two days later, both Brehmer and McIntosh were interviewed. It had 39 images and 12 videos that recorded the alleged crime. 32. A separate 1998 audit done for the Alaska Legislature said the states public defenders can ethically handle no more than 59 cases in a 60-hour work week; by that standard, Steiner said at the March hearing, his agency needed 66 more lawyers to fulfill its constitutional obligations. TENNESSEE COLLEGE STUDENT ACCUSED OF FATAL SHOOTING IN DORM. AnAlaska man accused of brutally assaulting and murdering a woman who was seen strangled in videos found ona digital memory cardhasbeen charged with another death, authorities said Thursday. Smith, 48, appeared in Anchorage Superior Court on Wednesday afternoon. The victim was also wearing several pieces of jewelry, including an apparently handmade metal bracelet containing three turquoise stones,[2][8] a copper necklace containing shell beads, a pendant heart, a Timex metal wristwatch consisting of circular links and with a brown watch face, a ring carved from shell jewelry, and gold-plated, twisted metal hoop earrings. After the death, the ship was diverted to the city of Juneau, in Alaska, and passengers were forced by investigators to remain on board for more than eight hours. or redistributed. Detectives arrested Smith at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to APD. The Alaska teens are being represented by the public defenders office, which has a policy of not commenting on cases. [7] He further recollected: "I picked her up downtown and told her I was going to take her to my home". Mar 6th 600p DARLA Recently retired newly weds embark on their third tropical cruise in less than year. There wasSelena Mullenax, a young mother studying for her GEDfound shotin a public park on a winter morning. A millionaire widower and her teenaged daughter take a fivestar cruise together. Warming water may be to blame. ", "Alaska State Troopers: Unidentified Body", "Serial Killer Robert Hansen Dies in Anchorage", "Serial Killer's Victim Exhumed In Alaska: Who Is 'Horseshoe Harriet'? (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen). Read about our approach to external linking. A man accused of killing a woman and recording it on an SD card later found in the street has been indicted in the murder of a second woman in Alaska, authorities announced Thursday. Police detectivesdon't attribute 2016's increase in homicides to any one cause. Anchorage Police Department personnelwere investigating a fatal shooting near 15th Avenue and E Street early Sept. 13, 2016. On Sept. 30, someone called Anchorage police claiming to have found an SD card containing video of a homicide. Judges appoint public defenders for defendants who cant afford to hire their own lawyers. He has not yet entered a plea. Cellphone records trace Smith to having been at the place where the remains were found within minutes of when the last photo on the SD card was taken, police documents outline. Thats going to escalate things tremendously because when were talking about misuse of substances, that inhibition is gone. Human remains found along Seward Highway near Rainbow trailhead. Shannon Duke. He then attempted to placate her, before pulling a gun, saying: "You do exactly as I say and you won't get hurt. I'll stand behind him, beside him, while he's going through this," Bissland added. Brehmer agreed to commit the murder for him.. However, when Eklutna Annie realized he was not driving in the direction of his home, she first asked him to drive her back to Anchorage, before he unsuccessfully attempted to convince her he was driving her to another safe location, claiming he was driving a "little further", to which Eklutna Annie replied, "Well, I'm not!" has been charged with first- and second-degree murder, and was taken to Anchorage Jail. Resources: If you are facing threatened or actual domestic violence, please discreetly call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or Abused Womens Aid in Crisis in Anchorage at 907-272-0100. The card was also labeled homicide at midtown Mariott. Homicide detectives began combing through the 39 images and 12 videos on the card, all documenting a horrifying scene of violence against an unknown woman. Police were able to identify Smith, a native of South Africa, from the video after recognizing him from a separate, unspecified investigation, in part because of his accent. Witness memories fade, Skidmore said. A district attorney has been selected to oversee the Bethel office and Skidmore said he is in talks with the North Slope Borough in hopes of funding the first Utqiagvik-based district attorney in several years. APD officer Arn Salao was wounded and the suspect, James Dale Ritchie, was killed in the early-morning shootout. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via AP), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. "Clearance" means police have either made an arrest, prosecutors have declined to file charges due to self-defense or some other reason, or the suspect died. Kristy Manzanares had been travelling with a large group, including her children, according to witnesses. Market data provided by Factset. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Brehmer ultimately admitted to being solicited by Schilmiller to commit the murder and that the murder was planned once she realized she had been catfished by Schilmiller, the documents say. "Same exactly happens to homicide cases. The SD card was labeled Homicide at midtown Marriott, according to the affidavit. With the SD card, one of the first questions that detectives had to answer was, Was this staged, or did this really happen? Igou pleaded guilty on November 5, 2020 to the September 10, 2017 murder of Aurora Paint Company co-owner Gregory Gill. The organization had previously released a digital reconstruction, and a clay bust of Eklutna Annie had also been created in the past. Anchorage police identified the second victim as Veronica Abouchuk. Pilot Project sites will implement initial response plans for tribal communities' response to new missing and murdered persons cases Anchorage, Alaska - United States Attorney Bryan Schroder announced Alaska's Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Pilot Project (Pilot Project) today. It is routine for me to enter class seeing several other students at the board with James as he provides guidance not only for my class but other classes as well.". The next year,that number nearly doubled, to 25. Alaskas public defenders have argued for the past two years that rising caseloads and tight budgets are straining their ability to fulfill their constitutional obligation to represent their clients. Alaska copscharged an Anchorage man with murderTuesday after shocking videos found on a mysterious memory card allegedly capturedthe suspectassaulting and killing a woman whose remains were recently discoverednear a highway. Police solved an Alaskan murder with a memory card found along road. Born in Montana but raised in Alaska, Duke married, raised three children and worked jobs including as a teacher's aide. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. [5][3], This unidentified decedent became known as Eklutna Annie due to the location in which her body was discovered. An employee at the city of Mountain Village said the city currently has no police officer and that no officials were available to comment on the case. Paula Zorawski,answered her front dooronly to be shot in the face by people, Anchorage police believe, were hoping to rob her son of marijuana. Feds: Eagle River nurse prescribed 4 million opiates in 5 years, contributed to two overdose deaths. Brian Steven Smith during his arraignment Wednesday. 28, 2020 at 10:10 AM PDT. Among those charged is Darin Schilmiller, whom authorities say presented himself as the millionaire Tyler from Kansas, using a fake photograph. It did not include those deaths. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. According to court documents, Denali Brehmer, 18, confessed to killing Cynthia Hoffman on June 2 at the . Detectives knew almost immediately that something was wrong, that someones loved one was killed when they found her remains, he said. She has not been identified. Eklutna Annie is the name given to an unidentified murder victim whose body was discovered in a wooded area, one mile south of South Eklutna Lake Road in Eklutna, Anchorage, Alaska, in July 1980. The record in this case should reflect that, as a result of the policy and budget choices made by the legislative and executive branches the people of Alaska must tolerate long delays in the prosecution of the type of crimes charged in this case crimes against women, crimes fueled by substance abuse, crimes against law enforcement officers, crimes against rural Alaskans, the judge wrote. [Here are the most-read Alaska Dispatch News stories of 2016]. [2][4], Serial killer Robert Hansen admitted responsibility for Eklutna Annie's murder in 1984. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. You're going to kill me!" Without a doubt, the new director will get this order for a variety of reasons, and will be thinking about how we can do things more efficiently, Moody said.
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