APDsays when Moren left the Gaslight Lounge later that night,he was followedby Roy Schauer, 46. 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. There were no immediate details aboutthe earlierinvestigation involving Smith. 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. 1 language. Doubek slept downstairs. 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. Cynthia Hoffman. [sic] A manwith some sort of English accent can be heard in the video as well. 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. Legal Statement. 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. 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. The card was also labeled homicide at midtown Mariott. Brian Smith . 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. 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. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. ", "Alaska State Troopers: Unidentified Body", "Serial Killer Robert Hansen Dies in Anchorage", "Serial Killer's Victim Exhumed In Alaska: Who Is 'Horseshoe Harriet'? CLICK TO VISIT THE ALL-NEW FOXBUSINESS.COM. 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. 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. 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. While the agencys inflation-adjusted spending has doubled in the past 30 years, its felony caseload has tripled, it says. [Here are the most-read Alaska Dispatch News stories of 2016]. 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. 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. 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. In response, he chased after her, grabbed her by the hair and tripped her to the ground. The trial has been delayed at least 15 times at the request of the defense, according to MacDonalds order. Months before the alleged hit . The domestic violence-related cases range from amother accused of suffocating her infant daughter,to a man accused of fatally shootinghis son-in-law. 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. He told Anchorage District Court Judge Brian Clark that he had about $2,000 in total saved. 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. 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. "Same exactly happens to homicide cases. Together, the homicides pose a question for Anchorage: What made 2016 so deadly? 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. The race is on: What to know about the 2023 Iditarod, No injuries in downtown Anchorage commercial building collapse. We still dont know who she is and we dont know much about her," said Thim. He had then stabbed her once in the back with a black-handled Buck knife as she lay face-down. It appeared that Smith recorded them himself, according to the affidavit. IE 11 is not supported. But a bail memorandum filed in the case . Catfishing is when a person creates a fake identity on a social network account to deceive a specific victim. He was returning to Anchorage, where he lives, Thim said. But the same weapon found on Ritchie at the time of his death an uncommon, vintage Colt Python .357 was used to kill four other people in a two-month span: Brianna Foisy, 20, and Jason Netter Sr., 41, on the Ship Creek Trail July 3, and Bryant "Brie" De Husson, 25, and Kevin Turner, 34, at Valley of the Moon Park on Aug. 28. When they were able to determine that this was an actual crime, then the investigation started to quickly speed up.. All rights reserved. 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. 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. 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. Alaska emergency officials issued an AMBER Alert for 8-month-old boy Ahmiri Chaney on Feb. 17, 2023. . 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. He had started Friday night with two of the people closest to him: family friend Ronda Marcy and his mother, Elann "Lennie" Moren. She has not been identified. In court Wednesday, Smith appeared in handcuffs, wearing a yellow jail jumpsuit. The Anchorage Police Department has identified the victim as Kathleen J. Henry, 30, according to a statement released Thursday afternoon. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. His wife is not implicated in the slaying. It's not that clear-cut, said McKinnon. He has since been released, now in the custody of authorities, and is charged with first- and second-degree murder. Hoffman, 19, died from a gunshot wound to the. 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. 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. Veronica Abouchuck, left, and Kathleen Henry. In January 2013, an associate professor wrote a letter of recommendation for Ritchie, who was apparently applying for an internship. ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Seven Cold Case Task Force offices across the nation, dedicated to solving cold cases involving missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives, are opening in the next few weeks, one expected to open in Anchorage. Her eldest daughter Chloe was killed with her. "Why life seems harder, why things seem scarier why is that? Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 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. Princess Cruises said 39-year-old Kristy Manzanares of Utah. [4][7][n 1], Eklutna Annie's body was markedly decomposed, indicating her death had occurred months prior. The group met to decide how they would divvy up the money. 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. Police do not believe Ritchie was involved with any otherunsolved slayingsin 2016. According to online court records, no new trial date has been set in the killing of Gertrude Queenie. she said. [10], As Eklutna Annie struggled against his efforts to overpower her, she had screamed, "Don't kill me! 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. She was aged between 16 and 25 at the time of her death, and her body was discovered several months after her murder. 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. Sarah Palin in 2007, admonished public defenders for specific professional failures in their handling of Walters case. "It depends on what we're looking at as far as danger," said McKinnon, speaking generally about citizen safety and homicides in 2016. 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. There wasSelena Mullenax, a young mother studying for her GEDfound shotin a public park on a winter morning. Jorge Rea-Villa, a handsome tattoo artist who went to a Fourth of July barbecue and ended up dead. 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. Officials said there was no indication Hoffman was sexually assaulted. 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. Gov. 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. 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. 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. Ritchie is considered the main suspect in those killings, said Markiewicz. AnAlaska man accused of brutally assaulting and murdering a woman who was seen strangled in videos found ona digital memory cardhasbeen charged with another death, authorities said Thursday. If you or someone you know is struggling with a substance use disorder, help is available. In September 2020, a revised facial reconstruction of the victim was released by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. It had 39 images and 12 videos that recorded the alleged crime. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, "That's our plan to create a better police presence," McKinnon said. This years Iditarod field is the smallest in history. A man has been arrested in connection to the murder of a woman aboard a cruise ship off the coast of Alaska, police say, in what has been described as a "domestic disturbance". The majority of victims were killed by someone they knew. 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. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Schilmiller admitted to federal agents and Indiana State Police his role in the plot, saying he chose Hoffman as the victim and he told Brehmer to kill her, according to the court documents. McKinnon pointed out that in the same year Anchorage set a homicide record, it also set a record for thenumber of touristsvisiting the city. Doug Moody, a supervisor at the Public Defender Agency, said in a phone interview Tuesday that Cherot will be reviewing MacDonalds critique. Published: Jul. Nancy Furlow . The Department of Law asked that Smith'sbond be set at $2 million. [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. 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. "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. She is the only victim of Robert Hansen to remain unidentified. Reporter Jeff Parrott contributed to this story. The Associated Press contributed to this report. I'll stand behind him, beside him, while he's going through this," Bissland added. (Scott Jensen / Alaska Dispatch News). This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The department is also trying to directly ask the public for help more often. 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. 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. The Associated Press contributed to this report. (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 . In the years since, he'd helped her live with lasting injuries. After Mr. Mackay and the pilot's sister, Muriel . All rights reserved. April 23, 2021. 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. All rights reserved. The next year,that number nearly doubled, to 25. 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. All rights reserved. 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. Its just really incredibly disheartening, Pearson said. A corrections officer told the court Doubek was on suicide protocols and unable to participate. ThatFriday, she dropped him off for an evening out downtown. 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. A 19-year-old from Anchorage, Alaska, was allegedly killed by her best friend and several other teen accomplices after they were promised millions of dollars for video evidence of the killing by a man who had catfished them. Thursday evening Live Doppler 13 forecast - Feb. 9, 2023. The year's final tally surpasses even the 29 deathsthat occurred in 1995, at the time attributed by officials to gang and drug activity. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Thim said Smith was subsequently connected to the remains discovered on the highway through hotel records and cell-phone data. Read about our approach to external linking. Brian Steven Smith is arraigned Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019 on a charge of first-degree murder at the Anchorage Jail courtroom. It took 26 days after Merrian's disappearance for her to be reported as a missing person and for the search for her to start. Skidmore said the number of prosecutors is rebounding following a reduction years earlier and now includes more than 120 attorneys. (Google). 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. 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. "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. July 27, 2017 / 10:16 AM / CBS News A suspect is in custody Thursday morning after a woman was found dead on a cruise ship in Alaska. Warming water may be to blame. 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. 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. In 2004 a 40-year-old lady named Merrian was taking a cruise to Alaska on board the Celebrity Mercury. The victim has been identified as 39-year-old Kristy Manzanares, from the US state of Utah. 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!" He moved back to Alaska in the spring of 2016. He also allegedly told authorities that he and Brehmer discussed killing another person, but the plan was abandoned, and he admitted to blackmailing Brehmer into raping people. Gardner was shot four times, according to the charging documents. Overwhelmingly, people were killed with guns: Gunfire was involved in all but four of the year's homicides. Fiesers account supports a complaint filed by prosecutors charging Doubek with the murder of his wife, 54-year-old Marjorie Gardner. 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. 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. [8] He died in prison in August 2014. Doubek did not attend his scheduled arraignment Thursday. McIntosh, who is being tried as an adult in the case, was the gunman, prosecutors say. Witness memories fade, Skidmore 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. But the 2016 toll also reflects one extraordinary factor:a potential serial killer apparently targeting strangers. (Loren Holmes / Alaska Dispatch News). 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. 32. A memorial for James Lucas Moren in an alley behind the Gaslight Bar on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016. Do you know this baby? Mar 6th 600p DARLA Recently retired newly weds embark on their third tropical cruise in less than year. The callertold police the memory card was found layingin the middle of the street in the Fairview neighborhood of Anchorage. 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. Such delays typically benefit defendants and make it harder for prosecutors to secure convictions, said Alaska Deputy Attorney General John Skidmore. data the agency has presented to the Legislature. (Erik Hill / Alaska Dispatch News). She covers breaking news, the Mat-Su region, aviation and general assignments. The case marks the second killing in less than six months involving a video. 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. 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. According to Hansen, Eklutna Annie had been wearing blue jeans, a sweater, and a brown leather jacket. 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. Hansen specifically stated she was his first murder victim. 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. "She championed any child. Smith had registered a room at the TownePlace Suites by Marriott the night the video was taken, according to the affidavit. Making the decision to leave, to start the processes for divorce or anything like that, that definitely would escalate the situation and increase lethality for that victim, Pearson said. She disappeared without a trace. All rights reserved. Armando Velador Padilla, 46, was taken into custody after the. On Thursday, a grand jury indicted Smith onmurder and evidence tampering charges in Abouchuk's death. Officers arrested Brian Steven Smith, 48, Tuesday afternoon, an Anchorage Police Department statement said. Brehmer agreed to commit the murder for him.. The organization had previously released a digital reconstruction, and a clay bust of Eklutna Annie had also been created in the past. 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. 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 . Paula Zorawski,answered her front dooronly to be shot in the face by people, Anchorage police believe, were hoping to rob her son of marijuana. Smith is originally from South Africa. At 41, he was a bachelor. 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.