You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! 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.. "That tells us other people believe it is a good place," he said. 2022 Anchorage Daily News. 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. After troopers arrived, Doubek was given first aid and taken to a hospital. [5][3], This unidentified decedent became known as Eklutna Annie due to the location in which her body was discovered. That puts APD at a more than 90 percent "clearance" rate for homicide cases. On Thursday, a grand jury indicted Smith onmurder and evidence tampering charges in Abouchuk's death. 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. The Anchorage Police Department has identified the victim as Kathleen J. Henry, 30, according to a statement released Thursday afternoon. "That's what's been fascinating.". 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. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. IE 11 is not supported. Man arrested for murder after SD card with video of crime found on street. 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. 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. "In the fog and the white light, I saw him walking down the alley," Marcy said. Brehmer agreed to commit the murder for him.. The woman attempted to fight back, the affidavit said. All rights reserved. But he added that those specific failures were symptoms of broader dysfunction, like public defender and prosecutor jobs going unfilled because of obstacles to recruitment and retention, as well as travel restrictions. And they say despite the number of killings, suspects are at large in very few of the cases. Police point at recent hiring of new officers as an effort to make the city safer. "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. Fox News Flash top headlines for Oct. 17 are here. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. The victim has. Feds: Eagle River nurse prescribed 4 million opiates in 5 years, contributed to two overdose deaths. When substance misuse and mental health problems are part of the dynamic, it heightens the risk, she said. According to court documents and evidence presented . 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. APD provided a recent photograph of Ritchie. 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. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen). Thats going to escalate things tremendously because when were talking about misuse of substances, that inhibition is gone. LOUISIANA MAN ARRESTED IN 1989 MURDER CASE: POLICE. 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. "James recognized the potential issue and has appropriate (sic) adjusted his behavior to make himself more inviting for others to seek help. ' said APD communications director MJ Thim. Judges appoint public defenders for defendants who cant afford to hire their own lawyers. 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. 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. He also told them hehad shot another woman and revealed where he dumped her body. 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. They are unwilling to share details of crimes in which charges have not been filed. 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. Alaska Public Media 2022. The SD card was labeled Homicide at midtown Marriott, according to the affidavit. 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. On Christmas Day, the people who loved Lucas Moren gathered in the alley behind the Gaslight. 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. The same year, Ritchie was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, an honor society for two-year colleges, and graduated from Blue Mountain Community College with an associate degree in science, according to his diploma. When troopers arrived, they found Doubek lying just inside the front door. "Is it a greater population? Read about our approach to external linking. 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. I said to his mother how cool he looked like a prizefighter about to enter the arena.". 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. 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. "That's our plan to create a better police presence," McKinnon said. 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. During an arraignment at Anchorage Jail Court Wednesday, a judge set Smiths bail at $750,0000 cash and appointed a public defender to represent him. 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. 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. McKinnon pointed out that in the same year Anchorage set a homicide record, it also set a record for thenumber of touristsvisiting the city. The Department of Law asked that Smith'sbond be set at $2 million. Information from: Anchorage Daily News, http://www.adn.com, Timothy Hoffman, right, father of slain teenager Cynthia Hoffman receives support from Edie Grunwald, left, who's son David Grunwald was murdered in Nov. 2016, as they entered a Superior courtroom for the arraignment of Cynthia's murder suspects in the Nesbett Courthouse on Tuesday, June 18, 2019 in Anchorage, Alaska. Zaz Hollander is a veteran journalist based in the Mat-Su and is currently an ADN local news editor and reporter. Brian Steven Smith, a 48-year-old reportedly from South Africa, was arrested at Ted Stevens International Airport after investigators linked him to the crime. But I feel that in the air.". She is the only victim of Robert Hansen to remain unidentified. He warned Metzger against scurrying around in district court, spending time on lesser felony cases instead of the homicide case, according to her motion. Ritchie was killed during a shootout with police officers in downtown Anchorage on November 12, 2016. 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. 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. Legal Statement. Months before the alleged hit . 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. Many of the victims were young. 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. So far, nothing has been found. This page was last edited on 18 February 2023, at 21:52. In 2004 a 40-year-old lady named Merrian was taking a cruise to Alaska on board the Celebrity Mercury. 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. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. 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. The card was also labeled homicide at midtown Mariott. 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 May, 19-year-old Brandon Merritt went to a Holiday gas station and exchanged words with another man, according to police. 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. The group met to decide how they would divvy up the money. One man, James Dale Ritchie, is the prime suspect in five deaths. Police said the body was found near milepost 108 of Seward Highway on Oct. 2. Some people have speculated gangs are to blame for the bloodshed. Copyright 2021 KTUU. 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. "She championed any child. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The trial has been delayed at least 15 times at the request of the defense, according to MacDonalds order. She had hit the wall, an acting supervisor later told the judge. Police continued to investigate and interviewed her two days later after Snapchat video appeared, in which she appeared to confess, the documents say. Last week, 23-year-old Darla Velador of Anchorage was stabbed to death. In January 2013, an associate professor wrote a letter of recommendation for Ritchie, who was apparently applying for an internship. Ian Bobich, 29, was found shot to death outside this Elm Street apartment building just before midnight Monday, Oct. 24, 2016, on Government Hill. She championed any child she met that needed a second chance for success, her obituary said. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. It's unclear who the woman is, but authorities are working to identify her and determine how she died. Anchorage Police Department personnelwere investigating a fatal shooting near 15th Avenue and E Street early Sept. 13, 2016. April 23, 2021. In the years since, he'd helped her live with lasting injuries. This years Iditarod field is the smallest in history. "Loose lips sink ships," Markiewicz said. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. You're going to kill me!" The final images on the card show the womans body face down in the bed of a pickup, and were time-stamped Sept. 6. He stepped out of the car and said goodbye to his mom and Marcy. APD asked morning commuters to avoid the area. 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. ThatFriday, she dropped him off for an evening out downtown. 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. According to police, the arrest came after someone reported finding a digital storage device containing video of the killing. It's not that clear-cut, said McKinnon. Police said the body was found near milepost 108 of Seward Highway on Oct. 2. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. During the initial 911 call, Doubek reportedly had slurred, garbled speech and admitted to shooting his wife, according to the affidavit. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. 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. "One of the little girls from that room came running out, calling for help, that her parents had been in a fight," one passenger told CBS News. 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. Legal Statement. 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. In 2016, some 34 people were killed by homicide in Anchorage. Officials said there was no indication Hoffman was sexually assaulted. The Alaska teens are being represented by the public defenders office, which has a policy of not commenting on cases. Doubek did not attend his scheduled arraignment Thursday. [7] He further recollected: "I picked her up downtown and told her I was going to take her to my home". Overwhelmingly, people were killed with guns: Gunfire was involved in all but four of the year's homicides. 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. If you or someone you know is struggling with a substance use disorder, help is available. A memorial for James Lucas Moren in an alley behind the Gaslight Bar on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016. Among those charged is Darin Schilmiller, whom authorities say presented himself as the millionaire Tyler from Kansas, using a fake photograph. data the agency has presented to the Legislature. In that case, her father was charged with the killing. 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. Skidmore said the number of prosecutors is rebounding following a reduction years earlier and now includes more than 120 attorneys. Fiesers account supports a complaint filed by prosecutors charging Doubek with the murder of his wife, 54-year-old Marjorie Gardner. Denali Brehmer, 22, pleaded guilty Wednesday to first-degree murder in the June 2019 death of Cynthia Hoffman, the Alaska Department of Law said. MacDonald, who was appointed by then-Gov. High winds cause damage, power outages across central Indiana . He was sentenced to 498 years in prison for the murder spree. She was aged between 16 and 25 at the time of her death, and her body was discovered several months after her murder. He worked in construction and kitchens, said Marcy, a paralegal. Gardner was a beloved community member, devoted mother and a part-owner of Hilltop Recycling, a long-standing staple of the Chugiak area, according to her family. Princess Cruises said 39-year-old Kristy Manzanares of Utah. Other images showed the woman covered in a white sheet, being moved through a parking lot to a truck. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Authorities were expected to announce charges on the case on Thursday. All rights reserved. The year's final tally surpasses even the 29 deathsthat occurred in 1995, at the time attributed by officials to gang and drug activity. Then, on Wednesday, Oct. 2, the womans body was found along Turnagain Arm, near the Rainbow trailhead. In court Wednesday, Smith appeared in handcuffs, wearing a yellow jail jumpsuit. Contact her at zhollander@adn.com. 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. 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. 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. A handwritten note laid on a nearby bench with the words Shes havin an affair proof is in the phone. (Erik Hill / Alaska Dispatch News). Nationally, the homicide clearance rate hovers around 64 percent, according to statistics from the FBI. 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. Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll told reporters Abouchuk's family reported her missing in February, but he said she had last been seen by them in July 2018. 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. But detectives had gotten video of the homicide days prior to finding the victims body, police said. He had then stabbed her once in the back with a black-handled Buck knife as she lay face-down. The Alaska Public Defender Agencys longtime director, Quinlan Steiner, announced his resignation in April. 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. Together, the homicides pose a question for Anchorage: What made 2016 so deadly? Slawomir Markiewicz, the Anchorage Police Department's top detective. The millionaires only demand for the payout was either photos or video of the slaying, according to court documents laying out first-degree murder and other charges against six people in the June 2 death of 19-year-old Cynthia Hoffman. Contact her at mtheriault@adn.com. 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. His wife is not implicated in the slaying. ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Content Warning: This article contains information that might be difficult for some readers. Federal authorities allege Brehmer produced sexually explicit videos involving a minor and sent them to Schilmiller. The three cases police still considerunsolved are the deaths of Marcus Cosby Jr., 24, Elijah Zeller, 18, and Ian Bobich, 29. 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. With the SD card, one of the first questions that detectives had to answer was, Was this staged, or did this really happen? "[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". According to Hansen, Eklutna Annie had been wearing blue jeans, a sweater, and a brown leather jacket. Theres a new fight over Bering Sea black cod. Born in Montana but raised in Alaska, Duke married, raised three children and worked jobs including as a teacher's aide. Market data provided by Factset. Born in Montana but raised in Alaska, Duke married, raised three children and worked jobs including as a teachers aide. (Loren Holmes / Alaska Dispatch News). Her body was found along the Seward Highway south of Anchorage on Oct. 2. Rodgers went on to kill another man in Anchorage and shoot two others who survived before his 26-hour rampage ended. 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.". I'll stand behind him, beside him, while he's going through this," Bissland added. Brian Steven Smith is arraigned Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019 on a charge of first-degree murder at the Anchorage Jail courtroom. All rights reserved. Of the34 homicides in 2016, all but three are considered solved, with police identifying at least a main suspect, according to Sgt. 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. 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. 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. It was first broadcast on May 9th, 2021. Could a bigger prize and more races boost interest? 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. 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. 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! In that case, her father was charged with the killing. 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. 32. But a bail memorandum filed in the case . 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. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. The man in the video speaks with a distinct accent, which led detectives to recall a separate case involving Smith, a South African immigrant living in Anchorage. Mar 6th 600p DARLA Recently retired newly weds embark on their third tropical cruise in less than year. The memory card, which was labeled homicide at midtown Marriott, was given to police by the woman who found it, charging documents obtained by NBC affiliate KTUU in Anchorage showed. 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. 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. 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". 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. The memory card found along road shows an Anchorage man assaulting and killing woman. The Anchorage office is expected to open on August 27. CALIFORNIA MAN KIDNAPPED GIRL, 17, WHO WORKED WITH PALS TO NAB HIM IN THEIR OWN UNOFFICIAL OPERATION: COPS, There are 39 images and 12 videos on the card, according to a charging document filed by the Alaska Department of Law. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 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. 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.

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