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. 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 SD card was labeled Homicide at midtown Marriott, according to the affidavit. 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. Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster gave invocation at Kenai Assembly meeting, Even more cruise ships are coming to Alaska in 2020. 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. Her family was not contacted and her items were removed from her cabin. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. According to police, the arrest came. The organization had previously released a digital reconstruction, and a clay bust of Eklutna Annie had also been created in the past. Could a bigger prize and more races boost interest? I was the only one there, I did that, I killed her, he told investigators, according to the charges. Police immediately suspected John Newman's nephew, 23-year-old Kirby Anthoney. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. 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. Catfishing is when a person creates a fake identity on a social network account to deceive a specific victim. The case marks the second killing in less than six months involving a video. So far, nothing has been found. She has not been identified. 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 motion argued that the judge misunderstood the limits on public defenders, who do not choose which charges are filed.). [10], As Eklutna Annie struggled against his efforts to overpower her, she had screamed, "Don't kill me! LOUISIANA MAN ARRESTED IN 1989 MURDER CASE: POLICE. Anchorage Police investigate the scene where human remains we found at mile 108 of the Seward Highway near Rainbow on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019. 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. The group met to decide how they would divvy up the money. Cellphone records trace Smith to having been at the place where the remains were found within minutes of when the last photo on the SD card was taken, police documents outline. 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. It appeared that Smith recorded them himself, according to the affidavit. Police detectivesdon't attribute 2016's increase in homicides to any one cause. All rights reserved. [4][7][n 1], Eklutna Annie's body was markedly decomposed, indicating her death had occurred months prior. It's not that clear-cut, said McKinnon. 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. He then attempted to placate her, before pulling a gun, saying: "You do exactly as I say and you won't get hurt. State lawmakers this year held the public defenders base budget effectively flat, though they included some $1.3 million, or a roughly 5 percent boost, in separate criminal justice legislation that was expected to generate more prosecutions. He had started Friday night with two of the people closest to him: family friend Ronda Marcy and his mother, Elann "Lennie" Moren. She deserves just as much as a search for her people as any other victim, as any other survivor. 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. "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. 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. (Obituary photo). Here, "it's more groups of people who know each other and engage in high-risk behavior together," he said. Police are careful not to blame victims of violent crimes. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Mar 6th 600p DARLA Recently retired newly weds embark on their third tropical cruise in less than year. MacDonald denied the request, saying his findings are not an indictment of the Alaska Public Defender Agency nor its attorneys. All rights reserved. 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. Overwhelmingly, people were killed with guns: Gunfire was involved in all but four of the year's homicides. 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. Cynthia Hoffman. It did not include those deaths. But they are working to build a case meeting the evidence threshold that would allow for prosecution, Markiewicz said. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. CLICK TO VISIT THE ALL-NEW FOXBUSINESS.COM. According to online court records, no new trial date has been set in the killing of Gertrude Queenie. 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. After Mr. Mackay and the pilot's sister, Muriel . 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. Man arrested for murder after SD card with video of crime found on street. Kristy Manzanares had been travelling with a large group, including her children, according to witnesses. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via AP), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. That puts APD at a more than 90 percent "clearance" rate for homicide cases. 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. CALIFORNIA MAN SENTENCED AFTER FORMER ROOMMATE FOUND DEAD, BLUDGEONED INSIDE WALL. They are unwilling to share details of crimes in which charges have not been filed. Ian Bobich, 29, was found shot to death outside this Elm Street apartment building just before midnight Monday, Oct. 24, 2016, on Government Hill. In court Wednesday, Smith appeared in handcuffs, wearing a yellow jail jumpsuit. Legal Statement. Market data provided by Factset. The woman attempted to fight back, the affidavit said. Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll told reporters Abouchuk's family reported her missing in February, but he said she had. 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. Gov. Resources can be found by calling Alaska 211 or visiting the State of Alaskas website to find treatment options. 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.. 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.. An earlier version of the chart in this story incorrectly stated that it included fatal officer-involved shootings and justifiable homicides. 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. 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. James Dale Ritchie was a senior at East High School in 1994. All rights reserved. The show Very Scary People profiled Robert Hansen in "The Butcher Baker". 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. "Same exactly happens to homicide cases. APD asked morning commuters to avoid the area. Other images showed her being strangled by a man who was yelling at her to die in what sounded like a foreign accent, at one point stomping on her throat. He was unable to "remember whether she was a prostitute or [a] dancer", although he did state he believed she was from Kodiak, Alaska. The Department of Law asked that Smith'sbond be set at $2 million. Published: Jul. Witnesses say that the incident was described by crew members as "a domestic disturbance". 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. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. MacDonald serves as the presiding judge for the Fairbanks-based Fourth Judicial District. A Wasilla woman was shot four times at home Sunday night and her husband is charged with her murder, according to Alaska State Troopers. 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. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. But I feel that in the air.". 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. This story was produced as part of a collaboration between Alaska Public Media and the Anchorage Daily News. Brian Smith . According to police, the arrest came after someone reported finding a digital storage device containing video of the killing. Shannon Duke. 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. But detectives had gotten video of the homicide days prior to finding the victims body, police said. 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. 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. Thim declined to say anything about the other investigation, or whether Smith is a suspect in other crimes. The . 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. 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. Ritchie is considered the main suspect in those killings, said Markiewicz. 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. 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. 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. 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. But the 2016 toll also reflects one extraordinary factor:a potential serial killer apparently targeting strangers. During the initial 911 call, Doubek reportedly had slurred, garbled speech and admitted to shooting his wife, according to the affidavit. Police were able to identify Smith, a native of South Africa, from the video after recognizing him from a separate, unspecified investigation, in part because of his accent. Market data provided by Factset. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Police have only definitively named him as the gunman in one killing, that of Treyveon Thompson on July 29. She had hit the wall, an acting supervisor later told the judge. He has since been released, now in the custody of authorities, and is charged with first- and second-degree murder. 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. Zaz Hollander is a veteran journalist based in the Mat-Su and is currently an ADN local news editor and reporter. 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. 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. This week, Brian Smith, 48, was charged with first-degree murder in the case, the Anchorage Police Department said in a Wednesday statement. Judges appoint public defenders for defendants who cant afford to hire their own lawyers. The Public Defender Agencys budget, meanwhile, has grown by 9 percent in the past two years. Fiesers account supports a complaint filed by prosecutors charging Doubek with the murder of his wife, 54-year-old Marjorie Gardner. The images showed a naked woman being beaten on the floor of a hotel room, according to the affidavit. All but one of the victims in those cases were female. According to the affidavit, the couple had separate bedrooms. 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. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! 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. "That tells us other people believe it is a good place," he said. Igou pleaded guilty on November 5, 2020 to the September 10, 2017 murder of Aurora Paint Company co-owner Gregory Gill. It was first broadcast on May 9th, 2021. An Indiana man is accused of " catfishing " an Alaska teenager and convincing her to murder her supposed best friend for $9 million with the help of four others. 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 championed any child she met that needed a second chance for success, her obituary said. I said to his mother how cool he looked like a prizefighter about to enter the arena.". McIntosh, who is being tried as an adult in the case, was the gunman, prosecutors say. Police do not believe Ritchie was involved with any otherunsolved slayingsin 2016. You're going to kill me!" At one June hearing, shortly before she resigned, the public defender noted she was working a double case load. [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]. The millionaire's only demand for the payout was either . 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. [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. 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. Born in Montana but raised in Alaska, Duke married, raised three children and worked jobs including as a teacher's aide. [Here are the most-read Alaska Dispatch News stories of 2016]. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! 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. [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. McIntosh was arrested, but Brehmer denied any involvement in the death. "That's our plan to create a better police presence," McKinnon said. The memory card found along road shows an Anchorage man assaulting and killing woman. Fox News Flash top headlines for Oct. 17 are here. He also told them hehad shot another woman and revealed where he dumped her body. 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 womans body was found last week along the Seward Highway south of the city. They were all going to spend Christmas together the next day. She said he never exhibited any violent tendencies such as those she heard of from police. When substance misuse and mental health problems are part of the dynamic, it heightens the risk, she said. The final images on the card show the womans body face down in the bed of a pickup, and were time-stamped Sept. 6. The callertold police the memory card was found layingin the middle of the street in the Fairview neighborhood of Anchorage. (Google). 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. 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. 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. IE 11 is not supported. 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. 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. All rights reserved. Feds: Eagle River nurse prescribed 4 million opiates in 5 years, contributed to two overdose deaths. Legal Statement. 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. 2022 Anchorage Daily News. Digital evidence and statements show Brehmer was communicating with and sending videos and/or photographs of the events surrounding the incident to Schilmiller at his directive through the duration of the event, documents say. Schauer shot Moren several times, police say, though they have not said why. (In addition to the 75 criminal attorneys, about 25 more work on appeals and childrens cases.) We learned sometimes the hard way in the past.". Legal Statement. [17], To date, Roxane Easland, Karen Evan, Megan Emerick, and Teresa Davis have been ruled out as being Eklutna Annie. Of the34 homicides in 2016, all but three are considered solved, with police identifying at least a main suspect, according to Sgt. Alaska Public Media 2022. TODAY - Anna Kaplan 18h. Detectives knew almost immediately that something was wrong, that someones loved one was killed when they found her remains, he said. According to court documents, Denali Brehmer, 18, confessed to killing Cynthia Hoffman on June 2 at the . ", "Alaska State Troopers: Unidentified Body", "Serial Killer Robert Hansen Dies in Anchorage", "Serial Killer's Victim Exhumed In Alaska: Who Is 'Horseshoe Harriet'? The card was also labeled homicide at midtown Mariott. 2023 BBC. And they say despite the number of killings, suspects are at large in very few of the cases. A handwritten note laid on a nearby bench with the words Shes havin an affair proof is in the phone. An Alaskan murder mystery has been solved thanks to a SD card found laying in the street. "It depends on what we're looking at as far as danger," said McKinnon, speaking generally about citizen safety and homicides in 2016. or redistributed. As Merritt approachedAndrew Robertson-Goughnor, police said, Robertson-Goughnor shot him. The majority of victims were killed by someone they knew. 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. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 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 . I don't believe it.". 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. Such delays typically benefit defendants and make it harder for prosecutors to secure convictions, said Alaska Deputy Attorney General John Skidmore. The memory card was labeled "homicide at midtown Marriott" and contained 39 images and 12 videos of an assault and murder. 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. "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. 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. The FBI is investigating the death because it occurred in US waters. Little is known about Smith, the man charged. The killings happened in nearly every corner of Anchorage: from an Eagle River apartment complex toa normally quietsouth-sidesubdivision. The race is on: What to know about the 2023 Iditarod, No injuries in downtown Anchorage commercial building collapse. 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. 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. "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. Police solved an Alaskan murder with a memory card found along road. In a lot of ways I think it is generational," McKinnon said. 32. has been charged with first- and second-degree murder, and was taken to Anchorage Jail. Her body was found along the Seward Highway south of Anchorage on Oct. 2. When troopers arrived, they found Doubek lying just inside the front door. All rights reserved. Days later, on Oct. 2, police officers found human remains on the side of a highway. The victim has. ", "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. 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. The next year,that number nearly doubled, to 25. Hoffman was allegedly best friends with Brehmer, and she was chosen by the group as the victim, the documents say. On Sept. 30, someone called Anchorage police claiming to have found an SD card containing video of a homicide. 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. 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.
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