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. Smith is charged with first-degree murder. [9] A box of Salem matches were found in a pocket of her jacket, indicating she may have been a smoker. MacDonald serves as the presiding judge for the Fairbanks-based Fourth Judicial District. Her eldest daughter Chloe was killed with her. The race is on: What to know about the 2023 Iditarod, No injuries in downtown Anchorage commercial building collapse. She was aged between 16 and 25 at the time of her death, and her body was discovered several months after her murder. The videos show a woman being strangled and in one Smith can be heard saying just die. The videosshow Henry face down in the back of a truck. She was aged between 16 and 25 at the time of her death, and her body was discovered several months after her murder. (Erik Hill / Alaska Dispatch News). Skidmore said the number of prosecutors is rebounding following a reduction years earlier and now includes more than 120 attorneys. "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. According to the affidavit, Doubek, who had reportedly struggled with substance abuse, had been growing increasingly paranoid that his wife was having an affair, and because of his behavior, Gardner had considered divorcing him. An affidavit filed with the criminal complaint against him details a strange chain of events that led police to a trove of gruesome videos and photos. 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. 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. Its just really incredibly disheartening, Pearson said. Schilmiller admitted to federal agents and Indiana State Police his role in the plot, saying he chose Hoffman as the victim and he told Brehmer to kill her, according to the court documents. The Alaska teens are being represented by the public defenders office, which has a policy of not commenting on cases. 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 Anchorage Police Department has identified the victim as Kathleen J. Henry, 30, according to a statement released Thursday afternoon. At one June hearing, shortly before she resigned, the public defender noted she was working a double case load. 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. has been charged with first- and second-degree murder, and was taken to Anchorage Jail. Doubek slept downstairs. But APD isnot ready to close the cases. Early on Christmas Eve, James "Lucas" Moren became Anchorage homicide victimNo. 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. The Alaska Public Defender Agencys longtime director, Quinlan Steiner, announced his resignation in April. (Scott Jensen / Alaska Dispatch News). [sic] A manwith some sort of English accent can be heard in the video as well. Anchorage Police investigate the scene where human remains we found at mile 108 of the Seward Highway near Rainbow on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019. (Loren Holmes / Alaska Dispatch News). But I feel that in the air.". At 41, he was a bachelor. "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. die.". Gardner slept upstairs. Authorities who have reviewed the videos and photos said they remembered Smith from another investigationand found he was registered in early September to a room at a local hotel that has carpet that matches the one seen in the footage. (Loren Holmes / Alaska Dispatch News). Alaska Public Media 2022. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. The next year,that number nearly doubled, to 25. 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. 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. A 22-year-old Alaska woman pleaded guilty to murdering her 19-year-old "best friend" in 2019 after a man who was allegedly catfishing her offered her $9 million to kill someone. [4][7][n 1], Eklutna Annie's body was markedly decomposed, indicating her death had occurred months prior. Brian Steven Smith is arraigned Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019 on a charge of first-degree murder at the Anchorage Jail courtroom. Contact her at mtheriault@adn.com. 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. But detectives had gotten video of the homicide days prior to finding the victims body, police said. Eklutna Annie is still unidentified, despite her face being reconstructed in both 3-D and 2-D.[4][23] Several missing women are believed to have also been murdered by Hansen. 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. The Department of Law asked that Smith'sbond be set at $2 million. Of the34 homicides in 2016, all but three are considered solved, with police identifying at least a main suspect, according to Sgt. Read about our approach to external linking. The year's final tally surpasses even the 29 deathsthat occurred in 1995, at the time attributed by officials to gang and drug activity. The majority of victims were killed by someone they knew. On Sept. 30, police received a report from someone saying they had found an SD card containing several videos of an assault and murder. Many questions remain unanswered Wednesday, including the identity of the woman. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. The domestic violence-related cases range from amother accused of suffocating her infant daughter,to a man accused of fatally shootinghis son-in-law. The State Medical Examiner Office is working to confirm her identity and manner of death. The need for nine more lawyers was based on a 45-year-old standard set by the American Bar Association that public defenders annual caseloads should not exceed 150 felonies. 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. It did not include those deaths. He isnow charged with murder. 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. Police said they will release the name of the deceased woman once her identity is confirmed and family is notified. Police have only definitively named him as the gunman in one killing, that of Treyveon Thompson on July 29. Deputy District Attorney Brittany Dunlop said the process calls for the case to be brought before a grand jury. "Why life seems harder, why things seem scarier why is that? 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. Veronica Abouchuck, left, and Kathleen Henry. And so somebody who might have been using emotional abuse and threats and that sort of thing may escalate into more physical violence, Pearson said. The woman attempted to fight back, the affidavit said. Smith was taken into custody on an arrest warrant for first-degree murder Tuesday afternoon at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, police said in an online release announcing the arrest Wednesday. 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. Police have not yet pointed to any known motive in the cases where Ritchie is identified as a suspect. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. What science tells us about the afterlife. All rights reserved. It took 26 days after Merrian's disappearance for her to be reported as a missing person and for the search for her to start. One man, James Dale Ritchie, is the prime suspect in five deaths. 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". [14], In 1984, Robert Hansen admitted that he was responsible for the victim's death. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. "We are working on the Ship Creek case still and the Valley of the Moon Park," said Markiewicz. McIntosh, who is being tried as an adult in the case, was the gunman, prosecutors say. Two days later, both Brehmer and McIntosh were interviewed. ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Content Warning: This article contains information that might be difficult for some readers. I don't believe it.". The SD card was labeled Homicide at midtown Marriott, according to the affidavit. He stepped out of the car and said goodbye to his mom and Marcy. [2][4], Serial killer Robert Hansen admitted responsibility for Eklutna Annie's murder in 1984. He had started Friday night with two of the people closest to him: family friend Ronda Marcy and his mother, Elann "Lennie" Moren. 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. Legal Statement. When troopers arrived, they found Doubek lying just inside the front door. Cynthia Hoffman. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 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. As of Oct. 9, police said they were still working with the state medical examiner to determine her identity and contact her next of kin. On the whole they are to be commended for all they do in the face of serious institutional limits, he wrote. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. On Wednesday,. The caller told police the memory card had been found laying in the middle of the street of an Anchorage neighborhood. An earlier version of the chart in this story incorrectly stated that it included fatal officer-involved shootings and justifiable homicides. "Same exactly happens to homicide cases. 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. "What we're seeing is that when we ask the community for assistance, they really respond to us," he said. 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. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. I was the only one there, I did that, I killed her, he told investigators, according to the charges. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. [6], On July 17, 1980, Eklutna Annie's skeletal remains were found by workmen, buried in a shallow grave along a series of power lines north of Anchorage. If you or someone you know is struggling with a substance use disorder, help is available. CALIFORNIA MAN SENTENCED AFTER FORMER ROOMMATE FOUND DEAD, BLUDGEONED INSIDE WALL. (Bill Roth / ADN). He then attempted to placate her, before pulling a gun, saying: "You do exactly as I say and you won't get hurt. April 23, 2021. She had hit the wall, an acting supervisor later told the judge. Thats going to escalate things tremendously because when were talking about misuse of substances, that inhibition is gone. In 2016, some 34 people were killed by homicide in Anchorage. 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. All rights reserved. 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. Delay is always the friend of the defense because it makes it harder for prosecutors to put on their case.. In response, he chased after her, grabbed her by the hair and tripped her to the ground. 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. You're going to kill me!" "She championed any child. State lawmakers this year held the public defenders base budget effectively flat, though they included some $1.3 million, or a roughly 5 percent boost, in separate criminal justice legislation that was expected to generate more prosecutions. His wife is not implicated in the slaying. Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll told reporters Abouchuk's family reported her missing in February, but he said she had. A millionaire widower and her teenaged daughter take a fivestar cruise together. Market data provided by Factset. 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. He has since been released, now in the custody of authorities, and is charged with first- and second-degree murder. The trial has been delayed at least 15 times at the request of the defense, according to MacDonalds order. People were shot to death at a gas station, in a beloved park in the heart of the city, on a scenic beach where people go to look at the mountains. 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. 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. He was sentenced to 498 years in prison for the murder spree. Mike Dunleavy named Steiners replacement Tuesday: Samantha Cherot of Anchorage, who has worked both as a public defender and a private criminal defense and family attorney. They are unwilling to share details of crimes in which charges have not been filed. Anchorage police identified thesecond victim as Veronica Abouchuk. Born in Montana but raised in Alaska, Duke married, raised three children and worked jobs including as a teacher's aide. McKinnon said police are still trying to piece together what Ritchie did on a daily basis during the months he is believed to have been back in Anchorage. Legal Statement. Born in Montana but raised in Alaska, Duke married, raised three children and worked jobs including as a teachers aide. During the initial 911 call, Doubek reportedly had slurred, garbled speech and admitted to shooting his wife, according to the affidavit. IE 11 is not supported. This is a truly horrific case that is not the norm for our community, Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll said at a news conference, the Anchorage Daily News reported . APD officer Arn Salao was wounded and the suspect, James Dale Ritchie, was killed in the early-morning shootout. 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. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Last Monday, Sept. 30, a woman called police dispatch to report that shed found an SD card containing a video of a homicide on the ground, police said. "That's our plan to create a better police presence," McKinnon said. 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 Midtown hotel room. The memory card found along road shows an Anchorage man assaulting and killing woman. 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. "We haven't found evidence that anyone other than Ritchie is involved.". She deserves just as much as a search for her people as any other victim, as any other survivor. Judges appoint public defenders for defendants who cant afford to hire their own lawyers. 2023 BBC. 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. ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A Utah couple was celebrating their wedding anniversary aboard an Alaska cruise when the husband was found covered in blood next to his wife's lifeless body, a frenzy of . "I'd say a great number of our citizens don't engage in any activity that's considered dangerous.". [8] He died in prison in August 2014. 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. 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. 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. Brian Smith . Brian Steven Smith, 48, admitted to detectives that he was the man inimages and videos from the card, according to a document filed by the state Department of Law. 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. Fiesers account supports a complaint filed by prosecutors charging Doubek with the murder of his wife, 54-year-old Marjorie Gardner. 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. State prosecutors say Darin Lee Jones, 54, and Shawn Michael Phillips, 52, killed Patricia Phelps, 48, in Anchorage's Spenard neighborhood in 2017. Just two years ago, in 2014, Anchorage ended the year with 13 homicides on the books the lowest in two decades. Nationally, the homicide clearance rate hovers around 64 percent, according to statistics from the FBI. [5][3], This unidentified decedent became known as Eklutna Annie due to the location in which her body was discovered. She said she was not a police officer in the village at the time of the killing. After troopers arrived, Doubek was given first aid and taken to a hospital. Brian . Police had found Henrys remains on the side of a highway on Oct. 2. Armando Velador Padilla, 46, was taken into custody after the. Marcytook every votive candle she could find in her house, plus a piece of Christmas pie in plasticwrap, to leave as an offering at a makeshift altar another corner of Anchorage turned into an impromptu memorial for a person killed in 2016. Corrections:This article originally incorrectly stated that a homicide had taken place in the Kempton Hills subdivision in 2016. Authorities who reviewed the SD cards contents said they remembered Smith from another investigation and found he was registered in early September to a room at a local hotel which had the same carpet pattern as the one in the video. Thim declined to say anything about the other investigation, or whether Smith is a suspect in other crimes. The show Very Scary People profiled Robert Hansen in "The Butcher Baker". 1 language. Overwhelmingly, people were killed with guns: Gunfire was involved in all but four of the year's homicides. In 2004 a 40-year-old lady named Merrian was taking a cruise to Alaska on board the Celebrity Mercury. Marcy keeps running over the questions in her mind: Why is this happening in Anchorage? In May, 19-year-old Brandon Merritt went to a Holiday gas station and exchanged words with another man, according to police. Police point at recent hiring of new officers as an effort to make the city safer. 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.". A Wasilla woman was shot four times at home Sunday night and her husband is charged with her murder, according to Alaska State Troopers. He also told them hehad shot another woman and revealed where he dumped her body. [Here are the most-read Alaska Dispatch News stories of 2016]. According to online court records, no new trial date has been set in the killing of Gertrude Queenie. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via AP), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. All but one of the victims in those cases were female. Ritchie, the 40-year-oldkilled in a downtown shootout with policeafter he wounded an officer in an encounter early Nov. 12, is the prime suspect in the deaths of five people in 2016, APD said. 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. She championed any child she met that needed a second chance for success, her obituary said. A corrections officer told the court Doubek was on suicide protocols and unable to participate. Little is known about Smith, the man charged. Photos apparently show the woman underneath a blanketon a hotel luggage cart near a truck and in the truck bed, per the document. "James recognized the potential issue and has appropriate (sic) adjusted his behavior to make himself more inviting for others to seek help. Police and a crime scene investigation unit spent much of Tuesday afternoon and evening at the home where Smith lived with his wife, hauling away a black pickup, neighbors said. On Sept. 30, someone called Anchorage police claiming to have found an SD card containing video of a homicide. Alaska emergency officials issued an AMBER Alert for 8-month-old boy Ahmiri Chaney on Feb. 17, 2023. . [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. It appeared that Smith recorded them himself, according to the affidavit. 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. This years Iditarod field is the smallest in history. / 61.1254; -149.5234. Detectives arrested Smith at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to APD. "[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". It was first broadcast on May 9th, 2021. 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. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. The images showed a naked woman being beaten on the floor of a hotel room, according to the affidavit. [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! TENNESSEE COLLEGE STUDENT ACCUSED OF FATAL SHOOTING IN DORM. As Merritt approachedAndrew Robertson-Goughnor, police said, Robertson-Goughnor shot him. All rights reserved. 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. The year'shomicides include at least seven domestic violence killings, where the victim is believed to have beenslain by an intimate partner or someone in their immediate family. 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. Officials said there was no indication Hoffman was sexually assaulted. All rights reserved. In arguments included with MacDonalds order, public defenders described an agency at its breaking point, struggling to retain experienced attorneys and unable to compete for recruits against cities with a lower cost of living and comparable pay. Authorities were expected to announce charges on the case on Thursday. 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 . Anchorage police investigate a fatal shooting at the Holiday Gas Station located on Abbott Road on Wednesday evening, May 25, 2016. (Google). 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. Thursday evening Live Doppler 13 forecast - Feb. 9, 2023. 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. Or are people just angrier?" An Alaskan murder mystery has been solved thanks to a SD card found laying in the street. But they point out the majority of them were either involved in risky behavior or killed by someone they knew. Thim said Smith was subsequently connected to the remains discovered on the highway through hotel records and cell-phone data. He moved back to Alaska in the spring of 2016. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Police have not identified the victim, who is said to have been killed during the first week of September. More than three dozenimages and 12 videos were stored on the card, according to the charging documents. Months before the alleged hit . That puts APD at a more than 90 percent "clearance" rate for homicide cases. 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. While the agencys inflation-adjusted spending has doubled in the past 30 years, its felony caseload has tripled, it says. A memorial for James Lucas Moren in an alley behind the Gaslight Bar on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016. Last week, 23-year-old Darla Velador of Anchorage was stabbed to death. James Dale Ritchie was a senior at East High School in 1994. 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. There were no immediate details aboutthe earlierinvestigation involving Smith. All rights reserved. CLICK TO VISIT THE ALL-NEW FOXBUSINESS.COM. An economic thing happening? Alaska Public Media 2022. Brian Steven Smith is shown being arraigned on a charge of first-degree murder at the Anchorage Jail courtroom Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019, in Anchorage, Alaska. Doubek did not attend his scheduled arraignment Thursday. 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. Mar 6th 600p DARLA Recently retired newly weds embark on their third tropical cruise in less than year. Anchorage police say theyve arrested a man for the murder of a woman whose body had been dumped a week ago on the Seward Highway south of Anchorage. Contact her at mtheriault@adn.com. (In addition to the 75 criminal attorneys, about 25 more work on appeals and childrens cases.) data the agency has presented to the Legislature. [16], Hansen was sentenced to 461 years in prison without the possibility of parole for her murder and three others.
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