He stepped out of the car and said goodbye to his mom and Marcy. In 2017, the year Queenie was killed, the rate of women killed by men in Alaska was three times the national average and the highest in the United States, according to the Violence Policy Center. [9] A box of Salem matches were found in a pocket of her jacket, indicating she may have been a smoker. As Merritt approachedAndrew Robertson-Goughnor, police said, Robertson-Goughnor shot him. A Snapchat video showed two of the teens accused of killing 19-year-old Cynthia Hoffman near the Thunderbird Falls trailhead in June apparently discussing the crime. I said to his mother how cool he looked like a prizefighter about to enter the arena.". Indiana man enters not guilty pleas in Alaska murder plot 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. (Loren Holmes / ADN). Human remains found along Seward Highway near Rainbow trailhead. 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. In 2007, she had been severely injured when her fiance's son,Christopher Erin Rodgers, attacked the couple with a machete at their Palmer home. Sarah Palin in 2007, admonished public defenders for specific professional failures in their handling of Walters case. 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. He has not yet entered a plea. Market data provided by Factset. So far, nothing has been found. Policeinvestigate the scene of an officer-involved shooting in downtown Anchorage onNovember 12, 2016. Advocate for missing and murdered women, reflecting on the ongoing efforts to identify Eklutna Annie[18], Eklutna Annie remains unidentified. 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. Police did not say why the SD card was in the street, but they believe Smith recorded the images himself, according to the AP. Witness memories fade, Skidmore said. She deserves just as much as a search for her people as any other victim, as any other survivor. She championed any child she met that needed a second chance for success, her obituary said. The Anchorage Police Department has identified the victim as Kathleen J. Henry, 30, according to a statement released Thursday afternoon. Legal Statement. One man, James Dale Ritchie, is the prime suspect in five deaths. Other images showed her being strangled by a man who was yelling at her to die in what sounded like a foreign accent, at one point stomping on her throat. Veronica Abouchuck, left, and Kathleen Henry. Cruise Ship Killers | True Crime Network Alaska Native Man's Unsolved Murder Part of 'Epidemic' or redistributed. (Scott Jensen / Alaska Dispatch News). He always committed his murders at night, often around midnight or a short time after. All rights reserved. die.". ANCHORAGE - Following a three-week trial in U.S. District Court, a federal jury convicted an Anchorage man on charges of murder in furtherance of a continuing criminal enterprise, using a firearm to commit murder in a drug trafficking crime, drug conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Together, the homicides pose a question for Anchorage: What made 2016 so deadly? 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. She said he never exhibited any violent tendencies such as those she heard of from police. Anchorage Police Department personnelwere investigating a fatal shooting near 15th Avenue and E Street early Sept. 13, 2016. Witnesses say that the incident was described by crew members as "a domestic disturbance". An ongoing Daily News and ProPublica investigation has found that one in three Alaska communities has no local law enforcement of any kind. IE 11 is not supported. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Smith is originally from South Africa. The three cases police still considerunsolved are the deaths of Marcus Cosby Jr., 24, Elijah Zeller, 18, and Ian Bobich, 29. This page was last edited on 18 February 2023, at 21:52. There wasSelena Mullenax, a young mother studying for her GEDfound shotin a public park on a winter morning. Anchorage police say 8-month-old baby found safe; father arrested on The SD card also contained images of the womans body being removed from a hotel room and transported in a black truck, according to charging documents. State prosecutors say Darin Lee Jones, 54, and Shawn Michael Phillips, 52, killed Patricia Phelps, 48, in Anchorage's Spenard neighborhood in 2017. Reporter Jeff Parrott contributed to this story. The race is on: What to know about the 2023 Iditarod, No injuries in downtown Anchorage commercial building collapse. Smith originally pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, sexual assault and tampering in the death of his first victim, 30-year-old Kathleen Henry, before admitting to the crime. Deputy District Attorney Brittany Dunlop said the process calls for the case to be brought before a grand jury. 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. Delay is always the friend of the defense because it makes it harder for prosecutors to put on their case.. 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. The FBI is testing his DNA in a nationwide database that may reveal if he is linked to any crimes in other states, McKinnon said. MacDonald serves as the presiding judge for the Fairbanks-based Fourth Judicial District. [17], To date, Roxane Easland, Karen Evan, Megan Emerick, and Teresa Davis have been ruled out as being Eklutna Annie. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. In 2017, the year Queenie was killed, the rate of women killed by men in Alaska was three times the national average and the highest in the United States, according to the Violence Policy Center. She was aged between 16 and 25 at the time of her death, and her body was discovered several months after her murder. CALIFORNIA MAN SENTENCED AFTER FORMER ROOMMATE FOUND DEAD, BLUDGEONED INSIDE WALL. Even after that request was granted, Steiner said at a legislative budget hearing in March that he needed at least nine more lawyers, on top of an existing staff of roughly 75 criminal attorneys, to fulfill the agencys constitutional obligations. An Alaskan murder mystery has been solved thanks to a SD card found laying in the street. Troopers arrived hours later and interviewed Walters, who admitted to beating Queenie, his 22-year-old girlfriend, with his fists and a broom handle. (In addition to the 75 criminal attorneys, about 25 more work on appeals and childrens cases.) Days later, on Oct. 2, police officers found human remains on the side of a highway. Her fiance was killed. CLICK TO VISIT THE ALL-NEW FOXBUSINESS.COM. 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". In May, 19-year-old Brandon Merritt went to a Holiday gas station and exchanged words with another man, according to police. An Indiana man is accused of " catfishing " an Alaska teenager and convincing her to murder her supposed best friend for $9 million with the help of four others. According to the Violence Policy Center, Alaska ranked number one in murder of women by men in incidents where there were one victim and one offender from 2014 through 2018. After human remains were found along a highway just south of Anchorage two days after the memory card was found, police were able to start putting pieces together. 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. 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. Detectives knew almost immediately that something was wrong, that someones loved one was killed when they found her remains, he said. Last week, 23-year-old Darla Velador of Anchorage was stabbed to death. Photos apparently show the woman underneath a blanketon a hotel luggage cart near a truck and in the truck bed, per the document. (Erik Hill / Alaska Dispatch News). In a separate federal investigation rising from the investigation, Schilmiller and Brehmer were indicted Tuesday on federal child pornography charges, including production and coercion and enticement of a minor. 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. Kristy Manzanares had been travelling with a large group, including her children, according to witnesses. 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. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. APD officer Arn Salao was wounded and the suspect, James Dale Ritchie, was killed in the early-morning shootout. 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.. Warming water may be to blame. Smith, 48, appeared in Anchorage Superior Court on Wednesday afternoon. Alaska woman pleads guilty to killing 'best friend' after man catfished About three weeks before Hoffman was killed, Brehmer and Schilmiller began discussing a plan to rape and murder someone in Alaska, according to court documents. Born in Montana but raised in Alaska, Duke married, raised three children and worked jobs including as a teachers aide. 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. Legal Statement. Alaska emergency officials issued an AMBER Alert for 8-month-old boy Ahmiri Chaney on Feb. 17, 2023. . Many of the victims were young. The Anchorage office is expected to open on August 27. But there are plenty of public defender offices in the Lower 48 who are offering those exact salaries right now with lower cost of living and more stability in their government and their budget., The public defender agency asked that MacDonald be disqualified from the Mountain Village case because of his bias against the agency and Walters, the defendant. On Christmas Day, the people who loved Lucas Moren gathered in the alley behind the Gaslight. She said she was not a police officer in the village at the time of the killing. In at least two cases, a person believed to be breaking into a home was killed in what prosecutors determinedto be self-defense, and no charges were filed.The deaths ofLoren Douglas, 30, andAllen Raymond, 19, are still considered homicides by APD. All the white people are getting done first while the Natives get pushed to the back burner, Bill wrote in a Facebook message, when asked about the case. He had started Friday night with two of the people closest to him: family friend Ronda Marcy and his mother, Elann "Lennie" Moren. Suzi Pearson, executive director for the Abused Womens Aid in Crisis shelter in Anchorage, said the decision to split up or leave a relationship can be a particularly dangerous time in the life of a woman experiencing domestic violence. Moody, the Alaska Public Defender Agency supervisor, said there are currently 11 vacant attorney positions out of 98 statewide. has been charged with first- and second-degree murder, and was taken to Anchorage Jail. 2022 Anchorage Daily News. Press Release - Anchorage Man Sentenced to Ninty-Nine Years - Alaska "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. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. MacDonald, who was appointed by then-Gov. Nationally, the homicide clearance rate hovers around 64 percent, according to statistics from the FBI. Smith is charged with first-degree murder. "He had a leather jacket on and blue jeans, with a hoodie. 1 language. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. 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. In 2016, some 34 people were killed by homicide in Anchorage. Brian Steven Smith is arraigned Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019 on a charge of first-degree murder at the Anchorage Jail courtroom. She disappeared without a trace. Videos and photos show brutal attack of woman in Anchorage hotel room Each of the three men died from gunshot wounds. Feds: Eagle River nurse prescribed 4 million opiates in 5 years, contributed to two overdose deaths. McIntosh, who is being tried as an adult in the case, was the gunman, prosecutors say. When they were able to determine that this was an actual crime, then the investigation started to quickly speed up.. 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. Anthoney and his girlfriend moved to Anchorage from Twin Falls, Idaho, in 1985 when authorities in Idaho accused him of raping and brutally beating a twelve-year-old girl at a campground near Twin Falls. Deadliest state: For women in Alaska, rape and murder are too common Don't kill me!" On Thursday, a grand jury indicted Smith onmurder and evidence tampering charges in Abouchuk's death. The SD card was labeled Homicide at midtown Marriott, according to the affidavit. Igou pleaded guilty on November 5, 2020 to the September 10, 2017 murder of Aurora Paint Company co-owner Gregory Gill. Smith came to Alaska from South Africa about five years ago and became a naturalized U.S. citizen last month, according to the bail memo. 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. The card was also labeled homicide at midtown Mariott. Ritchie was killed during a shootout with police officers in downtown Anchorage on November 12, 2016. On Wednesday,. Officials allege they destroyed some of Hoffmans clothing, purse and cellphone, and Brehmer texted Hoffmans family to let them know they dropped her off at Polar Bear Park in Anchorage. (Loren Holmes / Alaska Dispatch News). Police are careful not to blame victims of violent crimes. According to police, the arrest came. I don't believe it.". He was unable to "remember whether she was a prostitute or [a] dancer", although he did state he believed she was from Kodiak, Alaska. In June, U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr declared a public safety emergency in the state, announcing $10.5 million in funding for village police, equipment and public safety buildings. Doubek slept downstairs. Her eldest daughter Chloe was killed with her. The department is also trying to directly ask the public for help more often. Alaska man accused of strangling captured on digital memory card I was the only one there, I did that, I killed her, he told investigators, according to the charges. Armando Velador Padilla, 46, was taken into custody after the. What science tells us about the afterlife. But a bail memorandum filed in the case . Market data provided by Factset. "We are working on the Ship Creek case still and the Valley of the Moon Park," said Markiewicz. At one point, the agencys seven-attorney Bethel office was down to three, he said. Our salaries up here used to be the draw, an attorney for the agency said. All rights reserved. ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) Alaska teens hoping to cash in on a $9 million offer from a Midwest millionaire brutally killed a developmentally disabled woman on a popular trail outside Anchorage, shooting her in the back of the head and dumping her body in a river, authorities allege. "What we're seeing is that when we ask the community for assistance, they really respond to us," he said. 2019, on charges of murder in Anchorage, Alaska. But the same weapon found on Ritchie at the time of his death an uncommon, vintage Colt Python .357 was used to kill four other people in a two-month span: Brianna Foisy, 20, and Jason Netter Sr., 41, on the Ship Creek Trail July 3, and Bryant "Brie" De Husson, 25, and Kevin Turner, 34, at Valley of the Moon Park on Aug. 28. 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 . The caller later told officers the card a small memory card used in portable digital devices was discarded on the street at the corner of Fairbanks Street and 13th Avenue in Fairview, near the Gambell Carrs store. I'll stand behind him, beside him, while he's going through this," Bissland added. [2][4], Serial killer Robert Hansen admitted responsibility for Eklutna Annie's murder in 1984. 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. Police said the body was found near milepost 108 of Seward Highway on Oct. 2. A man charged with murder is accused of fatally stabbing his 23-year-old daughter Friday in Anchorage's Fairview neighborhood. 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. You're going to kill me!" [8] He died in prison in August 2014. This years Iditarod field is the smallest in history. Anchorage police think the human remains belong to the woman seen on the memory card, and the medical examiner is working to confirm the connection and the cause of death. His wife is not implicated in the slaying. The group met to decide how they would divvy up the money. 2022 Anchorage Daily News. According to a press release from the Alaska Department of Law, Charlie was sentenced to 75 years . When is Eurovision and how do you get tickets? Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster gave invocation at Kenai Assembly meeting, Even more cruise ships are coming to Alaska in 2020. Detectives recognized Brian Steven Smith from the graphic videos because Smith is involved in a separate ongoing investigation, said Anchorage Police Department spokesman MJ Thim. Many questions remain unanswered Wednesday, including the identity of the woman. On Sept. 30, someone called Anchorage police claiming to have found an SD card containing video of a homicide. Alaska woman catfished by Indiana man pleads guilty to murder A Wasilla woman was shot four times at home Sunday night and her husband is charged with her murder, according to Alaska State Troopers. It had 39 images and 12 videos that recorded the alleged crime. Bill said that in her experience with the criminal justice system, cases involving white defendants and victims appear to be resolved more quickly than cases involving Alaska Natives. 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. In a lot of ways I think it is generational," McKinnon said. Catfisher Convinced Alaska Teens to Murder a Developmentally Disabled After troopers arrived, Doubek was given first aid and taken to a hospital. 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!" At the scene, troopers found the door handle to Gardners bedroom door had been broken off, with damage marks matching the blade of a broken maul found nearby. He does not look like the young man he portrayed himself to look like, he is not a millionaire and he lives in Indiana, court documents say. Police Say A Teen Killed Her Friend After A Catfish Promised Her $9 Anchorage man sentenced to 55 years in prison for murder of Alaska Zoo According to the affidavit, the couple had separate bedrooms. Anchorage police say 8-month-old baby found safe; father arrested on Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Upon examining the card, police said it"contained several videos which appeared to show the assault and subsequent homicide of an adult female" and an investigation was opened. "[13], According to Hansen, he then drove in the direction of Eklutna Lake, with his vehicle eventually becoming stuck on a desolate road as he veered in the direction of a "muddy swamp". Her family was not contacted and her items were removed from her cabin. 32. James Dale Ritchie was a senior at East High School in 1994. He was sentenced to 498 years in prison for the murder spree. Police do not believe Ritchie was involved with any otherunsolved slayingsin 2016. [5][3][10], An autopsy of Eklutna Annie's body revealed she was petite in stature,[11] and most likely white, although she may have had a degree of Native American heritage. But APD isnot ready to close the cases. Of the34 homicides in 2016, all but three are considered solved, with police identifying at least a main suspect, according to Sgt. Ritchie grew up in Anchorage and was a standout athlete at East High School in the mid-1990s before involvement in drugs led to a felony record that derailed his life. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Other images showed the woman covered in a white sheet, being moved through a parking lot to a truck. "We haven't found evidence that anyone other than Ritchie is involved.". Schauer shot Moren several times, police say, though they have not said why. 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. He also told them hehad shot another woman and revealed where he dumped her body. The Department of Law asked that Smith'sbond be set at $2 million. Investigators believe the remains along the highway belonged to the woman killed in the videos and they believe Smith killed her in early Septemberand recorded the photos and videos himself. Anchorage Police investigate the scene where human remains we found at mile 108 of the Seward Highway near Rainbow on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019. Another factor no one could have predicted: James Dale Ritchie, who could prove to bethe most prolific killer in AnchoragesinceJoshua Wade, though APD is not ready to call him that. [sic] A manwith some sort of English accent can be heard in the video as well. Of the 34 victims, 14 were under the age of 25. Kyle Hopkins and Nat Herz, Anchorage Daily News and Alaska Public Media. "She championed any child. Thats going to escalate things tremendously because when were talking about misuse of substances, that inhibition is gone. Murder of Eklutna Annie - Wikipedia Smith remained in jail on Wednesday where he is being held on an outstanding warrant. Troopers: Wasilla woman killed, husband charged with her murder Published: Jul. "She sounded pretty desperate, but the crew came up as quickly as they could", he said, adding that the incident occurred on the 9th floor of the 19-deck ship. The memory card was labeled "homicide at midtown Marriott" and contained 39 images and 12 videos of an assault and murder. "In the fog and the white light, I saw him walking down the alley," Marcy said. The woman attempted to fight back, the affidavit said. Couple in Alaska cruise ship murder seemed like "perfect American Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. "Same exactly happens to homicide cases. In that case, her father was charged with the killing. She was aged between 16 and 25 at the time of her death, and her body was discovered several months after her murder. (Loren Holmes/Anchorage Daily News via AP) Author: The Associated Press Published: 10:58 PM EDT August 9, 2019 Updated: 3:40 AM EDT August 12, 2019 ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP . Mystery over woman's murder on Alaska cruise ship - BBC News The domestic violence-related cases range from amother accused of suffocating her infant daughter,to a man accused of fatally shootinghis son-in-law. Theres a new fight over Bering Sea black cod. "I'd say a great number of our citizens don't engage in any activity that's considered dangerous.". 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. "It depends on what we're looking at as far as danger," said McKinnon, speaking generally about citizen safety and homicides in 2016. All rights reserved. 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. Online court records did not list an attorney for Schilmiller. If you are considering suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or Stop Suicide Alaska at 1-877-266-HELP. 2023 BBC. MacDonalds order and decision are part of the ongoing effort to hold a criminal trial in Fairbanks for Walters, who was 34 when troopers arrested him Oct. 5, 2017, in Mountain Village on charges of murder, assault and evidence tampering.
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