or redistributed. Doug Moody, a supervisor at the Public Defender Agency, said in a phone interview Tuesday that Cherot will be reviewing MacDonalds critique. 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. Brian Steven Smith during his arraignment Wednesday. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Smith remained in jail on Wednesday where he is being held on an outstanding warrant. On Thursday, a grand jury indicted Smith onmurder and evidence tampering charges in Abouchuk's death. 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. 2019, on charges of murder in Anchorage, Alaska. 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. (In addition to the 75 criminal attorneys, about 25 more work on appeals and childrens cases.) 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. As Merritt approachedAndrew Robertson-Goughnor, police said, Robertson-Goughnor shot him. Feds: Eagle River nurse prescribed 4 million opiates in 5 years, contributed to two overdose deaths. 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. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Police detectivesdon't attribute 2016's increase in homicides to any one cause. Anchorage police investigate a fatal shooting at the Holiday Gas Station located on Abbott Road on Wednesday evening, May 25, 2016. The victim has. Days later, on Oct. 2, police officers found human remains on the side of a highway. He told Anchorage District Court Judge Brian Clark that he had about $2,000 in total saved. The race is on: What to know about the 2023 Iditarod, No injuries in downtown Anchorage commercial building collapse. "That's our plan to create a better police presence," McKinnon said. New documents from Ritchie'stime at community collegein Virginiapresent a portrait of a striving engineering student whose work was so good that a professor wrote in a 2013 letter of recommendation that he gradedRitchie's exams first and used them as the test's key. (Image from East High School 1994 yearbook and APD handout). All rights reserved. The Anchorage office is expected to open on August 27. 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. But I feel that in the air.". "Same exactly happens to homicide cases. 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. 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. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. data the agency has presented to the Legislature. On Sept. 30, police received a report from someone saying they had found an SD card containing several videos of an assault and murder. 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. Among those charged is Darin Schilmiller, whom authorities say presented himself as the millionaire Tyler from Kansas, using a fake photograph. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Born in Montana but raised in Alaska, Duke married, raised three children and worked jobs including as a teachers aide. 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. Alaska emergency officials issued an AMBER Alert for 8-month-old boy Ahmiri Chaney on Feb. 17, 2023. . 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. "Is it a greater population? They are unwilling to share details of crimes in which charges have not been filed. All but one of the victims in those cases were female. High winds cause damage, power outages across central Indiana . For all the good the internet can do, it can be a very dark place, Bryan Schroder, the U.S. attorney in Alaska, said at a news conference Tuesday. Schilmiller offered Brehmer nine or more million dollars to carry out the murder and to have photographs and/or videos of the murder sent to him, the documents say. For many, it was the year the city's violence hit home,even if they didn't personally know any of the victims. "That's what's been fascinating.". Cynthia Hoffman. Anchorage Police Department personnelwere investigating a fatal shooting near 15th Avenue and E Street early Sept. 13, 2016. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Police have only definitively named him as the gunman in one killing, that of Treyveon Thompson on July 29. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via AP), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. In a separate federal investigation rising from the investigation, Schilmiller and Brehmer were indicted Tuesday on federal child pornography charges, including production and coercion and enticement of a minor. "What we're seeing is that when we ask the community for assistance, they really respond to us," he said. 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. Photos apparently show the woman underneath a blanketon a hotel luggage cart near a truck and in the truck bed, per the document. We learned sometimes the hard way in the past.". 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. But they are working to build a case meeting the evidence threshold that would allow for prosecution, Markiewicz said. He had then stabbed her once in the back with a black-handled Buck knife as she lay face-down. Last week, 23-year-old Darla Velador of Anchorage was stabbed to death. Resources can be found by calling Alaska 211 or visiting the State of Alaskas website to find treatment options. LOUISIANA MAN ARRESTED IN 1989 MURDER CASE: POLICE. (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. 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. According to police, the arrest came. Jorge Rea-Villa, a handsome tattoo artist who went to a Fourth of July barbecue and ended up dead. In 2016, some 34 people were killed by homicide in Anchorage. It's not that clear-cut, said McKinnon. More than three dozenimages and 12 videos were stored on the card, according to the charging documents. Throughout 2016, Ritchie murdered upwards of five individuals in and around Anchorage, Alaska, most of whom were in parks or along bike paths. Sarah Palin in 2007, admonished public defenders for specific professional failures in their handling of Walters case. 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 . But detectives had gotten video of the homicide days prior to finding the victims body, police said. 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. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Market data provided by Factset. 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. The killings happened in nearly every corner of Anchorage: from an Eagle River apartment complex toa normally quietsouth-sidesubdivision. Her fiance was killed. This years Iditarod field is the smallest in history. 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. Public records show that he lives in a home in the Geneva Woods neighborhood, and a social media profile that appears to belong to him says he married an Anchorage woman in 2014. Many questions remain unanswered Wednesday, including the identity of the woman. Here, "it's more groups of people who know each other and engage in high-risk behavior together," he said. The callertold police the memory card was found layingin the middle of the street in the Fairview neighborhood of Anchorage. Legal Statement. Witnesses say she was travelling with her children. [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]. Some people have speculated gangs are to blame for the bloodshed. 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. It appeared that Smith recorded them himself, according to the affidavit. 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. Federal authorities allege Brehmer produced sexually explicit videos involving a minor and sent them to Schilmiller. [5][3], This unidentified decedent became known as Eklutna Annie due to the location in which her body was discovered. He has not yet entered a plea. (Loren Holmes / Alaska Dispatch News). 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. In the years since, he'd helped her live with lasting injuries. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen). Her body was found along the Seward Highway south of Anchorage on Oct. 2. APD provided a recent photograph of Ritchie. Together, the homicides pose a question for Anchorage: What made 2016 so deadly? 32. (Loren Holmes / Alaska Dispatch News). TENNESSEE COLLEGE STUDENT ACCUSED OF FATAL SHOOTING IN DORM. The next year,that number nearly doubled, to 25. Troopers arrived hours later and interviewed Walters, who admitted to beating Queenie, his 22-year-old girlfriend, with his fists and a broom handle. In 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. 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. 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. But APD isnot ready to close the cases. Brehmer and McIntosh used Leylands pickup on June 2 to take Hoffman on a hike at Thunderbird Falls, a popular location about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Anchorage. But at one of the many stops along the way, a grizzly discovery is made when crew membersfind the widower's body crammed into her own suitcase. Police did not say why the SD card was in the street, but they believe Smith recorded the images himself, according to the AP. 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. Alaska Public Media 2022. [14], In 1984, Robert Hansen admitted that he was responsible for the victim's death. He has since been released, now in the custody of authorities, and is charged with first- and second-degree murder. Her family was not contacted and her items were removed from her cabin. Legal Statement. That puts APD at a more than 90 percent "clearance" rate for homicide cases. 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 three cases police still considerunsolved are the deaths of Marcus Cosby Jr., 24, Elijah Zeller, 18, and Ian Bobich, 29. 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. In a lot of ways I think it is generational," McKinnon said. Officials said there was no indication Hoffman was sexually assaulted. In that case, her father was charged with the killing. Of the34 homicides in 2016, all but three are considered solved, with police identifying at least a main suspect, according to Sgt. 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. In court Wednesday, Smith appeared in handcuffs, wearing a yellow jail jumpsuit. And they say despite the number of killings, suspects are at large in very few of the cases. MacDonald wrote that in addition to the Mountain Village case, hes overseeing two other homicide trials and a sexual assault case that have all been significantly delayed due to a public defender withdrawing late into the case.. IE 11 is not supported. Could a bigger prize and more races boost interest? "Clearance" means police have either made an arrest, prosecutors have declined to file charges due to self-defense or some other reason, or the suspect died. Alaska Public Media 2022. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Catfishing is when a person creates a fake identity on a social network account to deceive a specific victim. [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. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. State prosecutors say Darin Lee Jones, 54, and Shawn Michael Phillips, 52, killed Patricia Phelps, 48, in Anchorage's Spenard neighborhood in 2017. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. "We haven't found evidence that anyone other than Ritchie is involved.". After troopers arrived, Doubek was given first aid and taken to a hospital. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. Hansen specifically stated she was his first murder victim. Slawomir Markiewicz, the Anchorage Police Department's top detective. The Anchorage Police Department has identified the victim as Kathleen J. Henry, 30, according to a statement released Thursday afternoon. She has not been identified. A handwritten note laid on a nearby bench with the words Shes havin an affair proof is in the phone. 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. [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. On Wednesday,. All rights reserved. He was sentenced to 498 years in prison for the murder spree. Copyright 2021 KTUU. Marcy keeps running over the questions in her mind: Why is this happening in Anchorage? 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. 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. (Google). Princess Cruises said 39-year-old Kristy Manzanares of Utah. The Alaska Public Defender Agencys longtime director, Quinlan Steiner, announced his resignation in April. The images showed a naked woman being beaten on the floor of a hotel room, according to the affidavit. The State Medical Examiner Office is working to confirm her identity and manner of death. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! 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. In June, U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr declared a public safety emergency in the state, announcing $10.5 million in funding for village police, equipment and public safety buildings. 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. Another factor no one could have predicted: James Dale Ritchie, who could prove to bethe most prolific killer in AnchoragesinceJoshua Wade, though APD is not ready to call him that. 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. Denali Brehmer, 22, pleaded guilty Wednesday to first-degree murder in the June 2019 death of Cynthia Hoffman, the Alaska Department of Law said. 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. CALIFORNIA MAN SENTENCED AFTER FORMER ROOMMATE FOUND DEAD, BLUDGEONED INSIDE WALL. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! On Sept. 30, someone called Anchorage police claiming to have found an SD card containing video of a homicide. It did not include those deaths. 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. ", "DNA Match IDs Alaska Serial Killer's Victim After 37 Years", https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14666142/?ref_=ttep_ep3, https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2020/09/22/do-you-know-this-woman/, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murder_of_Eklutna_Annie&oldid=1140185336, Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery, Anchorage, Alaska. A memorial for James Lucas Moren in an alley behind the Gaslight Bar on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016. 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. Anchorage police identified the second victim as Veronica Abouchuk. His hair was long. 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. At 41, he was a bachelor. die.". "[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". She had hit the wall, an acting supervisor later told the judge. If you or someone you know is struggling with a substance use disorder, help is available. The final images on the card show the womans body face down in the bed of a pickup, and were time-stamped Sept. 6. Couldnt take it anymore., A second note was found among Doubeks belongings that according to troopers, discussed possible drug dealers and that one of them was having an affair with his wife.. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 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. Published: Jul. The death on Tuesday night triggered a lockdown of the 3,400-passenger ship. Do you know this baby? APD officer Arn Salao was wounded and the suspect, James Dale Ritchie, was killed in the early-morning shootout. I was the only one there, I did that, I killed her, he told investigators, according to the charges. Brian . During the initial 911 call, Doubek reportedly had slurred, garbled speech and admitted to shooting his wife, according to the affidavit. Smith is originally from South Africa. Months before the alleged hit . Overwhelmingly, people were killed with guns: Gunfire was involved in all but four of the year's homicides. 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. 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. According to a press release from the Alaska Department of Law, Charlie was sentenced to 75 years . The womans body was found last week along the Seward Highway south of the city. A Wasilla woman was shot four times at home Sunday night and her husband is charged with her murder, according to Alaska State Troopers. 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. April 23, 2021. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The memory card found along road shows an Anchorage man assaulting and killing woman. Just two years ago, in 2014, Anchorage ended the year with 13 homicides on the books the lowest in two decades. (The motion argued that the judge misunderstood the limits on public defenders, who do not choose which charges are filed.). Then, on Wednesday, Oct. 2, the womans body was found along Turnagain Arm, near the Rainbow trailhead. Gov. Could a bigger prize and more races boost interest? Lucas Moren himself had cleaned up the bloody scene of the machete attack on his mother. All rights reserved. Tracy Hansen and her dog, Gunner, were walking on the sidewalk in Anchorage, Alaska, when she was suddenly knocked to the ground, she told NBC . Police solved an Alaskan murder with a memory card found along road. Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll told reporters Abouchuk's family reported her missing in February, but he said she had. The woman attempted to fight back, the affidavit said. 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. (Erik Hill / Alaska Dispatch News). The department is also trying to directly ask the public for help more often. Doubek did not attend his scheduled arraignment Thursday.