She covers breaking news, the Mat-Su region, aviation and general assignments. She said he never exhibited any violent tendencies such as those she heard of from police. 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. 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. Theres a new fight over Bering Sea black cod. Legal Statement. 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. Detectives knew almost immediately that something was wrong, that someones loved one was killed when they found her remains, he said. Officials said there was no indication Hoffman was sexually assaulted. 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. According to Hansen, Eklutna Annie had been wearing blue jeans, a sweater, and a brown leather jacket. Street fighting in Bakhmut but Russia not in control, Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore dies at 61, Alex Murdaugh's legal troubles are far from over, 'The nurses wanted me to feel guilty about my abortion, From Afghan TV fame to a US factory floor. "Is it a greater population? 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.". What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? When they were able to determine that this was an actual crime, then the investigation started to quickly speed up.. Anchorage police say 8-month-old baby found safe; father arrested on 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. Read about our approach to external linking. "That's what's been fascinating.". Around 2010, he left Alaska and spent time in Las Vegas before moving to Virginia, where his parents now live. Officers arrested Brian Steven Smith, 48, Tuesday afternoon, an Anchorage Police Department statement said. Authorities say Schilmiller, who has been arrested in New Salisbury, Indiana, and will be transferred to Alaska next month, began an online relationship with 18-year-old Denali Brehmer of Anchorage, posing as Tyler. (Bill Roth / ADN). 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. Alaska woman pleads guilty to killing 'best friend' after man catfished "He had a leather jacket on and blue jeans, with a hoodie. "Loose lips sink ships," Markiewicz said. Alaska cops charged an Anchorage man with murder Tuesday after shocking videos found on a mysterious memory card allegedly captured the suspect assaulting and killing a woman whose remains. Of the34 homicides in 2016, all but three are considered solved, with police identifying at least a main suspect, according to Sgt. Legal Statement. They were all going to spend Christmas together the next day. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. 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. 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. Doubek did not attend his scheduled arraignment Thursday. [14], In 1984, Robert Hansen admitted that he was responsible for the victim's death. ANCHORAGE, Alaska A woman pleaded guilty to murder after an Indiana man allegedly offered her $9 million to "rape and murder someone in Alaska." According to the Alaska Department of Law, 22-year-old Denali Brehmer admitting to killing 19-year-old Cynthia Hoffman on June 29, 2019, near Thunderbird Falls in Chugiak, Alaska. [2][4], Serial killer Robert Hansen admitted responsibility for Eklutna Annie's murder in 1984. Rodgers went on to kill another man in Anchorage and shoot two others who survived before his 26-hour rampage ended. Born in Montana but raised in Alaska, Duke married, raised three children and worked jobs including as a teachers aide. All rights reserved. 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. Police are careful not to blame victims of violent crimes. Don't kill me!" Market data provided by Factset. An SD card found on an Alaska street showed a woman's murder - NBC News Press Release - Anchorage Man Sentenced to Ninty-Nine Years - Alaska He has not yet entered a plea. LOUISIANA MAN ARRESTED IN 1989 MURDER CASE: POLICE. James Dale Ritchie was a senior at East High School in 1994. Alaska's arduous Iditarod kicks off with ceremonial start | KRDO Police did not say why the SD card was in the street, but they believe Smith recorded the images himself, according to the AP. 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. According to online court records, no new trial date has been set in the killing of Gertrude Queenie. shut down anelementary school and a middle school, don't attribute 2016's increase in homicides to any one cause, mother accused of suffocating her infant daughter, killed in a downtown shootout with police, Here are the most-read Alaska Dispatch News stories of 2016. 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. He moved back to Alaska in the spring of 2016. [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. 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. Kristy Manzanares had been travelling with a large group, including her children, according to witnesses. 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 . MacDonalds ruling addresses some of the most urgent problems facing Alaskas criminal justice system, where policymakers and the public have increasingly turned their focus in recent years. Missing and murdered indigenous women cold case office - Anchorage, AK [9] A box of Salem matches were found in a pocket of her jacket, indicating she may have been a smoker. Feds: Eagle River nurse prescribed 4 million opiates in 5 years, contributed to two overdose deaths. According to a press release from the Alaska Department of Law, Charlie was sentenced to 75 years . On Thursday, a grand jury indicted Smith onmurder and evidence tampering charges in Abouchuk's death. Gardner was shot four times, according to the charging documents. Veronica Abouchuck, left, and Kathleen Henry. Police immediately suspected John Newman's nephew, 23-year-old Kirby Anthoney. (Scott Jensen / Alaska Dispatch News). Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Early on Christmas Eve, James "Lucas" Moren became Anchorage homicide victimNo. Human remains found along Seward Highway near Rainbow trailhead. The graphic videos show a woman being strangled and a mans voice saying justdie, the Associated Press reported. Princess Cruises said 39-year-old Kristy Manzanares of Utah. Couple in Alaska cruise ship murder seemed like "perfect American Alaska Public Media 2022. He was returning to Anchorage, where he lives, Thim said. Reporter Jeff Parrott contributed to this story. At 41, he was a bachelor. Man arrested for murder after SD card with video of crime found on street. 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. Jorge Rea-Villa, a handsome tattoo artist who went to a Fourth of July barbecue and ended up dead. 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. Sarah Palin in 2007, admonished public defenders for specific professional failures in their handling of Walters case. 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. 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. It's not that clear-cut, said McKinnon. The case marks the second killing in less than six months involving a video. But they point out the majority of them were either involved in risky behavior or killed by someone they knew. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, The millionaire's only demand for the payout was either . 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. ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) The Iditarod, the world's most famous sled dog race, starts Saturday with a fan-friendly ceremonial run through the streets of Anchorage, Alaska's largest city. All rights reserved. Market data provided by Factset. 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. 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. 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. Man accused of killing 23-year-old daughter in Anchorage charged with Months before the alleged hit . Her eldest daughter Chloe was killed with her. What science tells us about the afterlife. The three cases police still considerunsolved are the deaths of Marcus Cosby Jr., 24, Elijah Zeller, 18, and Ian Bobich, 29. Skidmore said the number of prosecutors is rebounding following a reduction years earlier and now includes more than 120 attorneys. Police solved an Alaskan murder with a memory card found along road. The majority of victims were killed by someone they knew. 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 . APD asked morning commuters to avoid the area. So far, nothing has been found. Time stamps on the images at the hotel showed they were taken in the early hours of Sept. 4, the affidavit said. 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. 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. The FBI is investigating the death because it occurred in US waters. Anchorage police: Homicide video victim - Alaska Public Media 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. 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. On Sept. 30, someone called Anchorage police claiming to have found an SD card containing video of a homicide. Thim said Smith was subsequently connected to the remains discovered on the highway through hotel records and cell-phone data. Theres also the question of how an SD card containing images and videos of a slaying, labeled Homicide at midtown Marriott, came to be discarded on a busy Anchorage street. Police Say A Teen Killed Her Friend After A Catfish Promised Her $9 Last year, Steiner, who was then the agencys director, warned that his attorneys were at their limit and would have to start refusing to handle new cases without a $1 million boost to their $26 million budget. He always committed his murders at night, often around midnight or a short time after. In May, 19-year-old Brandon Merritt went to a Holiday gas station and exchanged words with another man, according to police. The memory card was labeled "homicide at midtown Marriott" and contained 39 images and 12 videos of an assault and murder. 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. After Mr. Mackay and the pilot's sister, Muriel . Putting names to archive photos, China looks at reforms to deepen Xi's control, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, In photos: India's disappearing single-screen cinemas. 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. 2022 Anchorage Daily News. 2023 BBC. Brian Smith . Legal Statement. APDsays when Moren left the Gaslight Lounge later that night,he was followedby Roy Schauer, 46. 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. Police recognized the man in the videos as Brian Smith, an immigrant from South Africa police knew of from a previous investigation," according to the affidavit. "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. Deputy District Attorney Brittany Dunlop said the process calls for the case to be brought before a grand jury. Troopers: Wasilla woman killed, husband charged with her murder "Same exactly happens to homicide cases. "She championed any child. 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. All rights reserved. The state of Alaskas criminal justice system is operating on the fringes, barely able to protect against the deprivation of fundamental rights, barely able to respond in a professionally responsible manner to Alaska (s) rising violent crime rates, Fairbanks Superior Court Judge Michael A. MacDonald wrote in a blistering Aug. 30 decision, which has previously not been reported. Catfisher Convinced Alaska Teens to Murder a Developmentally Disabled Market data provided by Factset. 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. I said to his mother how cool he looked like a prizefighter about to enter the arena.". 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. According to Hansen, he had first attempted to placate Eklutna Annie as he restrained her, falsely claiming he did not intend to harm her, although she responded: "You are! An Alaskan murder mystery has been solved thanks to a SD card found laying in the street. 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. 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. 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.