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And they say despite the number of killings, suspects are at large in very few of the cases. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. An update released by Anchorage Police four months later stated they had taken a then 21-year-old named Orion Lind into custody but no charges were brought over Brandon's murder. Doubek did not attend his scheduled arraignment Thursday. Pilot Project sites will implement initial response plans for tribal communities' response to new missing and murdered persons cases Anchorage, Alaska - United States Attorney Bryan Schroder announced Alaska's Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Pilot Project (Pilot Project) today. On Sept. 30, police received a report from someone saying they had found an SD card containing several videos of an assault and murder. You're going to kill me!" On Christmas Day, the people who loved Lucas Moren gathered in the alley behind the Gaslight. Copyright 2021 KTUU. Zaz Hollander is a veteran journalist based in the Mat-Su and is currently an ADN local news editor and reporter. Smith is charged with first-degree murder. 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. An ongoing Daily News and ProPublica investigation has found that one in three Alaska communities has no local law enforcement of any kind. A woman in Alaska was walking her dog when a moose charged her from behind and kicked her in the head, according to shocking video captured by a bystander. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. "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. She said she was not a police officer in the village at the time of the killing. In January 2013, an associate professor wrote a letter of recommendation for Ritchie, who was apparently applying for an internship. (Obituary photo). 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. A 22-year-old Alaska woman pleaded guilty to murdering her 19-year-old "best friend" in 2019 after a man who was allegedly catfishing her offered her $9 million to kill someone. However, when Eklutna Annie realized he was not driving in the direction of his home, she first asked him to drive her back to Anchorage, before he unsuccessfully attempted to convince her he was driving her to another safe location, claiming he was driving a "little further", to which Eklutna Annie replied, "Well, I'm not!" 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. 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. When troopers arrived, they found Doubek lying just inside the front door. Passengers told CBS News that a "murder mystery" theme dinner had been taking place when the incident occurred, and several passengers first confused the crime for a hoax. "James recognized the potential issue and has appropriate (sic) adjusted his behavior to make himself more inviting for others to seek help. MacDonald, who was appointed by then-Gov. But detectives had gotten video of the homicide days prior to finding the victims body, police said. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Just two years ago, in 2014, Anchorage ended the year with 13 homicides on the books the lowest in two decades. It did not include those deaths. Months before the alleged hit . 1 language. 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. State prosecutors say Darin Lee Jones, 54, and Shawn Michael Phillips, 52, killed Patricia Phelps, 48, in Anchorage's Spenard neighborhood in 2017. 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. 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. or redistributed. Time stamps on the images at the hotel showed they were taken in the early hours of Sept. 4, the affidavit said. Thim declined to say anything about the other investigation, or whether Smith is a suspect in other crimes. For many, it was the year the city's violence hit home,even if they didn't personally know any of the victims. Little is known about Smith, the man charged. 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. According to a press release from the Alaska Department of Law, Charlie was sentenced to 75 years . 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 . "What we're seeing is that when we ask the community for assistance, they really respond to us," he said. Legal Statement. 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. A corrections officer told the court Doubek was on suicide protocols and unable to participate. 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. 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. She is the only victim of Robert Hansen to remain unidentified. Of the 34 victims, 14 were under the age of 25. A man charged with murder is accused of fatally stabbing his 23-year-old daughter Friday in Anchorage's Fairview neighborhood. 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. Police said the body was found near milepost 108 of Seward Highway on Oct. 2. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. 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 . According to Hansen, he persuaded Eklutna Annie to help him winch his pickup free from the mud, although when he began to drive his vehicle free, Eklutna Annie attempted to run. But APD isnot ready to close the cases. ThatFriday, she dropped him off for an evening out downtown. All but one of the victims in those cases were female. He does not look like the young man he portrayed himself to look like, he is not a millionaire and he lives in Indiana, court documents say. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, (Google). Contact her at mtheriault@adn.com. 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. or redistributed. APD provided a recent photograph of Ritchie. Many questions remain unanswered Wednesday, including the identity of the woman. IE 11 is not supported. But they are working to build a case meeting the evidence threshold that would allow for prosecution, Markiewicz said. The card was also labeled homicide at midtown Mariott. 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. Sarah Palin in 2007, admonished public defenders for specific professional failures in their handling of Walters case. [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. The death on Tuesday night triggered a lockdown of the 3,400-passenger ship. His hair was long. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. An earlier version of the chart in this story incorrectly stated that it included fatal officer-involved shootings and justifiable homicides. More than a few cases seem to trace back to a personal slight or insult that escalated into violence, said Lt. John McKinnon, head of APD's homicide unit. Read about our approach to external linking. All rights reserved. One man, James Dale Ritchie, is the prime suspect in five deaths. 2022 Anchorage Daily News. The caller told police the memory card had been found laying in the middle of the street of an Anchorage neighborhood. [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. Brian Steven Smith during his arraignment Wednesday. 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. 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. Or are people just angrier?" In 2016, some 34 people were killed by homicide in Anchorage. 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. McKinnon said police are still trying to piece together what Ritchie did on a daily basis during the months he is believed to have been back in Anchorage. (Erik Hill / Alaska Dispatch News). He worked in construction and kitchens, said Marcy, a paralegal. Police said they will release the name of the deceased woman once her identity is confirmed and family is notified. 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. Among those charged is Darin Schilmiller, whom authorities say presented himself as the millionaire Tyler from Kansas, using a fake photograph. He was unable to "remember whether she was a prostitute or [a] dancer", although he did state he believed she was from Kodiak, Alaska. Kristy Manzanares had been travelling with a large group, including her children, according to witnesses. All rights reserved. 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. 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.". Market data provided by Factset. The FBI is investigating the death because it occurred in US waters. ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A Utah couple was celebrating their wedding anniversary aboard an Alaska cruise when the husband was found covered in blood next to his wife's lifeless body, a frenzy of . Ritchie is considered the main suspect in those killings, said Markiewicz. Feds: Eagle River nurse prescribed 4 million opiates in 5 years, contributed to two overdose deaths. 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. It appeared that Smith recorded them himself, according to the affidavit. has been charged with first- and second-degree murder, and was taken to Anchorage Jail. When a composite sketch of the man suspected in the death of TreyveonThompson was released, more than 190 people called in tips, McKinnon said. At 41, he was a bachelor. An economic thing happening? That puts APD at a more than 90 percent "clearance" rate for homicide cases. 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. 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 autopsy report concluded that she had been killed by a single stab wound to the back. 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. Police did not say why the SD card was in the street, but they believe Smith recorded the images himself, according to the AP. 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. We still dont know who she is and we dont know much about her," said Thim. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Together, the homicides pose a question for Anchorage: What made 2016 so deadly? He said Eklutna Annie was either an exotic dancer from a local bar or a prostitute and that she was his first murder victim,[15] adding that she had been murdered in the fall or early winter of 1979. The Alaska Public Defender Agencys longtime director, Quinlan Steiner, announced his resignation in April. Shannon Duke. 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. 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. (Loren Holmes / Alaska Dispatch News). The victim has. When they were able to determine that this was an actual crime, then the investigation started to quickly speed up.. 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. There were no immediate details aboutthe earlierinvestigation involving Smith. "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. Brian Steven Smith is arraigned Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019 on a charge of first-degree murder at the Anchorage Jail courtroom. ", "Alaska State Troopers: Unidentified Body", "Serial Killer Robert Hansen Dies in Anchorage", "Serial Killer's Victim Exhumed In Alaska: Who Is 'Horseshoe Harriet'? 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. According to Hansen, Eklutna Annie had been wearing blue jeans, a sweater, and a brown leather jacket. [10], As Eklutna Annie struggled against his efforts to overpower her, she had screamed, "Don't kill me! All rights reserved. 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. This years Iditarod field is the smallest in history. Hoffman, 19, died from a gunshot wound to the. 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. 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. In a lot of ways I think it is generational," McKinnon said. APD asked morning commuters to avoid the area. 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. According to court documents and evidence presented . Anchorage police think the human remains belong to the woman seen on the memory card, and the medical examiner is working to confirm the connection and the cause of death. [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! 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. 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. The memory card found along road shows an Anchorage man assaulting and killing woman. Moren, a patron at the bar, was shot and killed in the alley as the bar was closing early in the morning on Dec. 24. 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. The graphic videos show a woman being strangled and a mans voice saying justdie, the Associated Press reported. Advocate for missing and murdered women, reflecting on the ongoing efforts to identify Eklutna Annie[18], Eklutna Annie remains unidentified. "Loose lips sink ships," Markiewicz said. 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. 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. Police are careful not to blame victims of violent crimes. Around 2010, he left Alaska and spent time in Las Vegas before moving to Virginia, where his parents now live. 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. 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. Police have not yet pointed to any known motive in the cases where Ritchie is identified as a suspect. It had 39 images and 12 videos that recorded the alleged crime. 2023 BBC. In September, the death of a man in the middle of a busy intersectionshut down anelementary school and a middle schoolwhile police investigated the killing. "[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". Contact her at mtheriault@adn.com. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen). "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. Fiesers account supports a complaint filed by prosecutors charging Doubek with the murder of his wife, 54-year-old Marjorie Gardner. According to the affidavit, Doubek, who had reportedly struggled with substance abuse, had been growing increasingly paranoid that his wife was having an affair, and because of his behavior, Gardner had considered divorcing him. 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. Alaskas public defenders have argued for the past two years that rising caseloads and tight budgets are straining their ability to fulfill their constitutional obligation to represent their clients. 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.. Witnesses say she was travelling with her children. This years Iditarod field is the smallest in history. Anchorage police identified the second victim as Veronica Abouchuk. He has since been released, now in the custody of authorities, and is charged with first- and second-degree murder. 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. On Wednesday,. All rights reserved. Alaska Public Media 2022. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. 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. 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. Her family was not contacted and her items were removed from her cabin. Throughout 2016, Ritchie murdered upwards of five individuals in and around Anchorage, Alaska, most of whom were in parks or along bike paths. Detectives knew almost immediately that something was wrong, that someones loved one was killed when they found her remains, he said. 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. [7] He further recollected: "I picked her up downtown and told her I was going to take her to my home". Alaska Public Media 2022. She was aged between 16 and 25 at the time of her death, and her body was discovered several months after her murder. 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. 32. "That's what's been fascinating.". Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll told reporters Abouchuk's family reported her missing in February, but he said she had. (Bill Roth / ADN). 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. 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. 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. 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. Officials said there was no indication Hoffman was sexually assaulted. A handwritten note laid on a nearby bench with the words Shes havin an affair proof is in the phone. 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. In response, he chased after her, grabbed her by the hair and tripped her to the ground. 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. [8] He died in prison in August 2014. 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. Delay is always the friend of the defense because it makes it harder for prosecutors to put on their case.. (In addition to the 75 criminal attorneys, about 25 more work on appeals and childrens cases.) 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. 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. TODAY - Anna Kaplan 18h. 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.