Warming water may be to blame. He had started Friday night with two of the people closest to him: family friend Ronda Marcy and his mother, Elann "Lennie" Moren. All but one of the victims in those cases were female. Hoffman, 19, died from a gunshot wound to the. Gardner slept upstairs. MacDonald declined to be interviewed, saying that Walters case is still open. Each of the three men died from gunshot wounds. The district attorney's office also decided not to pursue criminal charges in the shooting death ofAaron Syvinski, 30, which was found to be in self-defense. Brehmer agreed to commit the murder for him.. 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. data the agency has presented to the Legislature. 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. Clark asked that he be appointed a public defender and set his bail at $500,000 cash appearance bond and a $250,000 cash performance bond. Zaz Hollander is a veteran journalist based in the Mat-Su and is currently an ADN local news editor and reporter. 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. Thursday evening Live Doppler 13 forecast - Feb. 9, 2023. Her family was not contacted and her items were removed from her cabin. The images showed a naked woman being beaten on the floor of a hotel room, according to the affidavit. 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. "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. [n 2], The remains of Eklutna Annie are interred at the Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery, under a marker reading "Jane Doe / Died 1980".[21][22]. At 41, he was a bachelor. McIntosh was arrested, but Brehmer denied any involvement in the death. The State Medical Examiner Office is working to confirm her identity and manner of death. 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. Alaska Teen Killed Friend After Man Online Allegedly Offered $9M Fiesers account supports a complaint filed by prosecutors charging Doubek with the murder of his wife, 54-year-old Marjorie Gardner. Couple in Alaska cruise ship murder seemed like "perfect American 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. Brian . "Because of his knowledge other students identify him as a potential source of aid but may have been intimidated by his high level of self confidence," the letter said. The case marks the second killing in less than six months involving a video. The victim has. It had 39 images and 12 videos that recorded the alleged crime. She deserves just as much as a search for her people as any other victim, as any other survivor. "Why life seems harder, why things seem scarier why is that? I was the only one there, I did that, I killed her, he told investigators, according to the charges. According to Hansen, Eklutna Annie had been wearing blue jeans, a sweater, and a brown leather jacket. Hansen specifically stated she was his first murder victim. 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! The group met to decide how they would divvy up the money. Brehmer then enlisted the help of four friends, including 19-year-old Caleb Leyland, 16-year-old Kayden McIntosh and two other unnamed juveniles, to plan and carry out the murder at Schilmillers direction, according to the documents. Anchorage police identified the second victim as Veronica Abouchuk. The victim was Robert Pfeil, a 55-year-old senior pilot for Alaska Airlines, who was shot from another car as he drove from work on Oct. 12, 1985. Alaska's arduous Iditarod kicks off with ceremonial start | KRDO Cynthia Hoffman. ", "Alaska State Troopers: Unidentified Body", "Serial Killer Robert Hansen Dies in Anchorage", "Serial Killer's Victim Exhumed In Alaska: Who Is 'Horseshoe Harriet'? Anchorage police say they've arrested a man for the murder of a woman whose body had been dumped a week ago on the Seward Highway south of Anchorage. CALIFORNIA MAN SENTENCED AFTER FORMER ROOMMATE FOUND DEAD, BLUDGEONED INSIDE WALL. 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. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! 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. Man arrested for murder after SD card with video of crime found on street. 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. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. 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 . Catfisher Convinced Alaska Teens to Murder a Developmentally Disabled The race is on: What to know about the 2023 Iditarod, No injuries in downtown Anchorage commercial building collapse. The graphic videos show a woman being strangled and a mans voice saying justdie, the Associated Press reported. And they say despite the number of killings, suspects are at large in very few of the cases. The millionaire's only demand for the payout was either . 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. CLICK TO VISIT THE ALL-NEW FOXBUSINESS.COM. There were no immediate details aboutthe earlierinvestigation involving Smith. APD provided a recent photograph of Ritchie. 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. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Smith is charged with first-degree murder. The . The Anchorage Police Department has identified the victim as Kathleen J. Henry, 30, according to a statement released Thursday afternoon. 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. Around 2010, he left Alaska and spent time in Las Vegas before moving to Virginia, where his parents now live. He moved back to Alaska in the spring of 2016. All rights reserved. In 2011 and 2012, Ritchie was named to the President's List at Blue Mountain Community College in Weyers Cave, in western Virginia, according to school documents obtained by Alaska Dispatch News. This story was produced as part of a collaboration between Alaska Public Media and the Anchorage Daily News. 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. ", Autumn Smith. Doubek and Gardner shared a home in a Wasilla neighborhood off of Snowshoe Lane. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Police said the body was found near milepost 108 of Seward Highway on Oct. 2. "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. In May, 19-year-old Brandon Merritt went to a Holiday gas station and exchanged words with another man, according to police. Anchorage Police Department personnelwere investigating a fatal shooting near 15th Avenue and E Street early Sept. 13, 2016. According to court documents, Denali Brehmer, 18, confessed to killing Cynthia Hoffman on June 2 at the . 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. His hair was long. Officials said there was no indication Hoffman was sexually assaulted. Alaska murder mystery twist: Memory card found along road shows man As Merritt approachedAndrew Robertson-Goughnor, police said, Robertson-Goughnor shot him. "What we're seeing is that when we ask the community for assistance, they really respond to us," he said. When they were able to determine that this was an actual crime, then the investigation started to quickly speed up.. Sarah Palin in 2007, admonished public defenders for specific professional failures in their handling of Walters case. Police are careful not to blame victims of violent crimes. In court Wednesday, Smith appeared in handcuffs, wearing a yellow jail jumpsuit. Press Release - Anchorage Man Sentenced to Ninty-Nine Years - Alaska 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, AK) - On April 22, 2021, thirty-one year-old Randall Igou was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Eric Aarseth for Murder in the First Degree. This page was last edited on 18 February 2023, at 21:52. Gardner was shot four times, according to the charging documents. They are unwilling to share details of crimes in which charges have not been filed. 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 Thursday, a grand jury indicted Smith onmurder and evidence tampering charges in Abouchuk's death. Here, "it's more groups of people who know each other and engage in high-risk behavior together," he said. Prosecutors: Anchorage cold case murder started with gunfire, ended in This week, Brian Smith, 48, was charged with first-degree murder in the case, the Anchorage Police Department said in a Wednesday statement. The Department of Law asked that Smith'sbond be set at $2 million. [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! Jorge Rea-Villa, a handsome tattoo artist who went to a Fourth of July barbecue and ended up dead. Could a bigger prize and more races boost interest? When a composite sketch of the man suspected in the death of TreyveonThompson was released, more than 190 people called in tips, McKinnon said. According to online court records, no new trial date has been set in the killing of Gertrude Queenie. Alaska teens charged in 'murder for millions' slaying | AP News 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. or redistributed. The public defender representing Walters was juggling 200 cases and resigned due to mental exhaustion a week before the trial was to begin in July, according to the order. Of the 34 victims, 14 were under the age of 25. The woman attempted to fight back, the affidavit said. die.". Anchorage man sentenced to 55 years in prison for murder of Alaska Zoo "That tells us other people believe it is a good place," he said. 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.. Marcy keeps running over the questions in her mind: Why is this happening in Anchorage? 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. The case remains open, and numerous efforts have been made to determine the identity of the decedent, including several forensic facial reconstructions of how she may have appeared in life. She was aged between 16 and 25 at the time of her death, and her body was discovered several months after her murder. Thim declined to say anything about the other investigation, or whether Smith is a suspect in other crimes. 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. The victim has been identified as 39-year-old Kristy Manzanares, from the US state of Utah. (Loren Holmes / Alaska Dispatch News). "Is it a greater population? Then, on Wednesday, Oct. 2, the womans body was found along Turnagain Arm, near the Rainbow trailhead. He has since been released, now in the custody of authorities, and is charged with first- and second-degree murder. 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. (In addition to the 75 criminal attorneys, about 25 more work on appeals and childrens cases.) Last week, 23-year-old Darla Velador of Anchorage was stabbed to death. Denali Brehmer, 22, pleaded guilty Wednesday to first-degree murder in the June 2019 death of Cynthia Hoffman, the Alaska Department of Law said. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. 2022 Anchorage Daily News. Legal Statement. Feds: Eagle River nurse prescribed 4 million opiates in 5 years, contributed to two overdose deaths. In that case, her father was charged with the killing. [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. "[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". He has not yet entered a plea. While the agencys inflation-adjusted spending has doubled in the past 30 years, its felony caseload has tripled, it says. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 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. 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. Its just really incredibly disheartening, Pearson said. She has not been identified. (Image from East High School 1994 yearbook and APD handout). He stepped out of the car and said goodbye to his mom and Marcy. 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. The trial has been delayed at least 15 times at the request of the defense, according to MacDonalds order. For many, it was the year the city's violence hit home,even if they didn't personally know any of the victims. "We haven't found evidence that anyone other than Ritchie is involved.". The final images on the card show the womans body face down in the bed of a pickup, and were time-stamped Sept. 6. Brian Steven Smith during his arraignment Wednesday. 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. 1 language. Policeinvestigate the scene of an officer-involved shooting in downtown Anchorage onNovember 12, 2016. Her fiance was killed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. 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. 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. (Scott Jensen / Alaska Dispatch News). Police have not yet pointed to any known motive in the cases where Ritchie is identified as a suspect. Alaska copscharged an Anchorage man with murderTuesday after shocking videos found on a mysterious memory card allegedly capturedthe suspectassaulting and killing a woman whose remains were recently discoverednear a highway. Police had found Henrys remains on the side of a highway on Oct. 2. [4][7][n 1], Eklutna Annie's body was markedly decomposed, indicating her death had occurred months prior. 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 department is also trying to directly ask the public for help more often. Police continued to investigate and interviewed her two days later after Snapchat video appeared, in which she appeared to confess, the documents say. April 23, 2021. 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.". or redistributed. Published: Jan. 27, 2022 at 4:27 PM PST. LOUISIANA MAN ARRESTED IN 1989 MURDER CASE: POLICE. "That's our plan to create a better police presence," McKinnon said. Born in Montana but raised in Alaska, Duke married, raised three children and worked jobs including as a teachers aide. 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. Anchorage police say 8-month-old baby found safe; father arrested on 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. she said. "Same exactly happens to homicide cases. 28, 2020 at 10:10 AM PDT. Thim said the arrest hinged on two aspects of the investigation: the citizen who chose to call police when they found that card, and the coordination between law enforcement agencies handling the separate cases of the videos and the body. Officers arrested Brian Steven Smith, 48, Tuesday afternoon, an Anchorage Police Department statement said. 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. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. IE 11 is not supported. Market data provided by Factset. A Wasilla woman was shot four times at home Sunday night and her husband is charged with her murder, according to Alaska State Troopers. "She championed any child. Legal Statement. [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. Detectives knew almost immediately that something was wrong, that someones loved one was killed when they found her remains, he said. Photos apparently show the woman underneath a blanketon a hotel luggage cart near a truck and in the truck bed, per the document. He then attempted to placate her, before pulling a gun, saying: "You do exactly as I say and you won't get hurt. But detectives had gotten video of the homicide days prior to finding the victims body, police said. 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. 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. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. She wore several articles of clothing, including a brown leather hip-length jacket, a light-colored knitted sleeveless shirt (possibly white, beige, or light gray in color), blue jeans, and red, knee-high, high-heeled, zip-up boots. 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. MacDonald denied the request, saying his findings are not an indictment of the Alaska Public Defender Agency nor its attorneys. A handwritten note laid on a nearby bench with the words Shes havin an affair proof is in the phone. They were all going to spend Christmas together the next day. According to court papers, the group went off trail and followed a path to the bank of the Eklutna River, where Hoffman was bound, shot and thrown into the river. "Loose lips sink ships," Markiewicz said. The Public Defender Agencys budget, meanwhile, has grown by 9 percent in the past two years. 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. This years Iditarod field is the smallest in history. Her eldest daughter Chloe was killed with her.