Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! ' said APD communications director MJ Thim. All rights reserved. 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. 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. That puts APD at a more than 90 percent "clearance" rate for homicide cases. Market data provided by Factset. The FBI is investigating the death because it occurred in US waters. According to online court records, no new trial date has been set in the killing of Gertrude Queenie. MacDonald denied the request, saying his findings are not an indictment of the Alaska Public Defender Agency nor its attorneys. The . In 2016, some 34 people were killed by homicide in Anchorage. [2][4], Serial killer Robert Hansen admitted responsibility for Eklutna Annie's murder in 1984. At the sentencing hearing, the State presented video . Anchorage police identified the second victim as Veronica Abouchuk. Witnesses say that the incident was described by crew members as "a domestic disturbance". Thats going to escalate things tremendously because when were talking about misuse of substances, that inhibition is gone. [5][3], This unidentified decedent became known as Eklutna Annie due to the location in which her body was discovered. When they were able to determine that this was an actual crime, then the investigation started to quickly speed up.. 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. 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. Doubek and Gardner shared a home in a Wasilla neighborhood off of Snowshoe Lane. Brian Steven Smith during his arraignment Wednesday. Photos apparently show the woman underneath a blanketon a hotel luggage cart near a truck and in the truck bed, per the document. 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 . An ongoing Daily News and ProPublica investigation has found that one in three Alaska communities has no local law enforcement of any kind. 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. Legal Statement. Judges appoint public defenders for defendants who cant afford to hire their own lawyers. [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. 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. "I'd say a great number of our citizens don't engage in any activity that's considered dangerous.". The record in this case should reflect that, as a result of the policy and budget choices made by the legislative and executive branches the people of Alaska must tolerate long delays in the prosecution of the type of crimes charged in this case crimes against women, crimes fueled by substance abuse, crimes against law enforcement officers, crimes against rural Alaskans, the judge wrote. In 2004 a 40-year-old lady named Merrian was taking a cruise to Alaska on board the Celebrity Mercury. 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. 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. Then, on Wednesday, Oct. 2, the womans body was found along Turnagain Arm, near the Rainbow trailhead. (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. 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. 2022 Anchorage Daily News. Police detectivesdon't attribute 2016's increase in homicides to any one cause. 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. 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. Cynthia Hoffman. Brian Smith . 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.". Police did not say why the SD card was in the street, but they believe Smith recorded the images himself, according to the AP. 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. 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. Smith has a truck matching the one in the images, and pings from his cellphone put him along Rainbow Valley Road off the Seward Highway, near where the womans body was found, within minutes of the last time-stamped photos of the body, the affidavit said. 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. 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. High winds cause damage, power outages across central Indiana . Many questions remain unanswered Wednesday, including the identity of the woman. Gov. But the 2016 toll also reflects one extraordinary factor:a potential serial killer apparently targeting strangers. Ian Bobich, 29, was found shot to death outside this Elm Street apartment building just before midnight Monday, Oct. 24, 2016, on Government Hill. ", "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. Feds: Eagle River nurse prescribed 4 million opiates in 5 years, contributed to two overdose deaths. [17], To date, Roxane Easland, Karen Evan, Megan Emerick, and Teresa Davis have been ruled out as being Eklutna Annie. Authorities were expected to announce charges on the case on Thursday. 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! His hair was long. 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. 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. He warned Metzger against scurrying around in district court, spending time on lesser felony cases instead of the homicide case, according to her motion. All rights reserved. He also told officials Brehmer communicated with him throughout the murder, and sent Snapchat photographs and videos of Hoffman while bound and then after the murder. Legal Statement. Smiths wife of five years, Stephanie Bissland, told KTUU on Oct. 10 that Smith was a good husband, and she did not believe the allegations against him. Smith, 48, appeared in Anchorage Superior Court on Wednesday afternoon. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. If you or someone you know is struggling with a substance use disorder, help is available. 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. I don't believe it.". Police are careful not to blame victims of violent crimes. (Bill Roth / ADN). "[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 appeared that Smith recorded them himself, according to the affidavit. 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 . More than three dozenimages and 12 videos were stored on the card, according to the charging documents. She is the only victim of Robert Hansen to remain unidentified. The millionaire's only demand for the payout was either . "What we're seeing is that when we ask the community for assistance, they really respond to us," he said. Doubek did not attend his scheduled arraignment Thursday. Witnesses say she was travelling with her children. Police immediately suspected John Newman's nephew, 23-year-old Kirby Anthoney. (Loren Holmes/Anchorage Daily News via AP) Author: The Associated Press Published: 10:58 PM EDT August 9, 2019 Updated: 3:40 AM EDT August 12, 2019 ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP . Policeinvestigate the scene of an officer-involved shooting in downtown Anchorage onNovember 12, 2016. Detectives saythey have a "good understanding" of what happened and who was involved in each of those cases. die.". Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Police said the body was found near milepost 108 of Seward Highway on Oct. 2. 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. 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.
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