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. LOUISIANA MAN ARRESTED IN 1989 MURDER CASE: POLICE. 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. The trial has been delayed at least 15 times at the request of the defense, according to MacDonalds order. Among those charged is Darin Schilmiller, whom authorities say presented himself as the millionaire Tyler from Kansas, using a fake photograph. 2022 Anchorage Daily News. All rights reserved. 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. The Emerald Princess, operated by Princess Cruises, had departed from Seattle on Sunday for a week-long trip. 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. 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. He isnow charged with murder. "What we're seeing is that when we ask the community for assistance, they really respond to us," he said. Anchorage police identified thesecond victim as Veronica Abouchuk. 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 graphic videos show a woman being strangled and a mans voice saying justdie, the Associated Press reported. James Dale Ritchie was a senior at East High School in 1994. It was first broadcast on May 9th, 2021. We learned sometimes the hard way in the past.". Mystery over woman's murder on Alaska cruise ship - BBC News 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. If you or someone you know is struggling with a substance use disorder, help is available. She had hit the wall, an acting supervisor later told the judge. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. she said. Ian Bobich, 29, was found shot to death outside this Elm Street apartment building just before midnight Monday, Oct. 24, 2016, on Government Hill. Zaz Hollander is a veteran journalist based in the Mat-Su and is currently an ADN local news editor and reporter. At one June hearing, shortly before she resigned, the public defender noted she was working a double case load. 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. 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. ", "Alaska State Troopers: Unidentified Body", "Serial Killer Robert Hansen Dies in Anchorage", "Serial Killer's Victim Exhumed In Alaska: Who Is 'Horseshoe Harriet'? 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. 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 . [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. 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. 2019, on charges of murder in Anchorage, Alaska. (Scott Jensen / Alaska Dispatch News). Couple in Alaska cruise ship murder seemed like "perfect American Press Release - Anchorage Man Sentenced to Ninty-Nine Years - Alaska (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. In January 2013, an associate professor wrote a letter of recommendation for Ritchie, who was apparently applying for an internship. "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. Legal Statement. has been charged with first- and second-degree murder, and was taken to Anchorage Jail. Detectives arrested Smith at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to APD. 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. The three cases police still considerunsolved are the deaths of Marcus Cosby Jr., 24, Elijah Zeller, 18, and Ian Bobich, 29. He then attempted to placate her, before pulling a gun, saying: "You do exactly as I say and you won't get hurt. He had then stabbed her once in the back with a black-handled Buck knife as she lay face-down. On the whole they are to be commended for all they do in the face of serious institutional limits, he wrote. Hansen specifically stated she was his first murder victim. 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 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. [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]. Princess Cruises said 39-year-old Kristy Manzanares of Utah. All rights reserved. Just two years ago, in 2014, Anchorage ended the year with 13 homicides on the books the lowest in two decades. (Bob Hallinen / Alaska Dispatch News). 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. Market data provided by Factset. All rights reserved. When is Eurovision and how do you get tickets? Alaska Public Media 2022. Smith is charged with first-degree murder. The callertold police the memory card was found layingin the middle of the street in the Fairview neighborhood of Anchorage. At the sentencing hearing, the State presented video . 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. Her fiance was killed. 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 police, the arrest came after someone reported finding a digital storage device containing video of the killing. 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. Contact her at zhollander@adn.com. 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. Police immediately suspected John Newman's nephew, 23-year-old Kirby Anthoney. 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. She deserves just as much as a search for her people as any other victim, as any other survivor. He moved back to Alaska in the spring of 2016. "That tells us other people believe it is a good place," he said. 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. [Here are the most-read Alaska Dispatch News stories of 2016]. The REAL Deaths Behind The Show (Episode Guide) - Emma Cruises An ongoing Daily News and ProPublica investigation has found that one in three Alaska communities has no local law enforcement of any kind. Hoffman was allegedly best friends with Brehmer, and she was chosen by the group as the victim, the documents say. In the years since, he'd helped her live with lasting injuries. 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. Early on Christmas Eve, James "Lucas" Moren became Anchorage homicide victimNo. According to court documents and evidence presented . 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 championed any child. She said he never exhibited any violent tendencies such as those she heard of from police. She covers breaking news, the Mat-Su region, aviation and general assignments. APD asked morning commuters to avoid the area. 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. Anchorage Police Department personnelwere investigating a fatal shooting near 15th Avenue and E Street early Sept. 13, 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. data the agency has presented to the Legislature. One man, James Dale Ritchie, is the prime suspect in five deaths. Cynthia Hoffman. 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. die.". And they say despite the number of killings, suspects are at large in very few of the cases. Many questions remain unanswered Wednesday, including the identity of the woman. The killings happened in nearly every corner of Anchorage: from an Eagle River apartment complex toa normally quietsouth-sidesubdivision. Smith appeared in court Wednesday, where a judge said he'd be appointed a public defender. On Wednesday,. Brian Steven Smith is arraigned Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019 on a charge of first-degree murder at the Anchorage Jail courtroom. Witness memories fade, Skidmore said. 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. Legal Statement. We still dont know who she is and we dont know much about her," said Thim. 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. Anchorage police investigate a fatal shooting at the Holiday Gas Station located on Abbott Road on Wednesday evening, May 25, 2016. Of the34 homicides in 2016, all but three are considered solved, with police identifying at least a main suspect, according to Sgt. 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. Smith came to Alaska from South Africa about five years ago and became a naturalized U.S. citizen last month, according to the bail memo. Troopers: Wasilla woman killed, husband charged with her murder The group met to decide how they would divvy up the money. Days later, on Oct. 2, police officers found human remains on the side of a highway. Man accused of killing woman, recording it is charged in 2nd Alaska murder (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via AP), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. 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. Police have not identified the victim, who is said to have been killed during the first week of September. 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. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. 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. While the agencys inflation-adjusted spending has doubled in the past 30 years, its felony caseload has tripled, it says. According to the affidavit, the couple had separate bedrooms. 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. Throughout 2016, Ritchie murdered upwards of five individuals in and around Anchorage, Alaska, most of whom were in parks or along bike paths. 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. 2023 BBC. 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.. Judge: case of slain Mountain Village woman shows how Alaska's justice Police said they will release the name of the deceased woman once her identity is confirmed and family is notified. The State Medical Examiner Office is working to confirm her identity and manner of death. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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! In May, 19-year-old Brandon Merritt went to a Holiday gas station and exchanged words with another man, according to police. All rights reserved. When a composite sketch of the man suspected in the death of TreyveonThompson was released, more than 190 people called in tips, McKinnon said. MacDonald denied the request, saying his findings are not an indictment of the Alaska Public Defender Agency nor its attorneys. 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.". 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. But the 2016 toll also reflects one extraordinary factor:a potential serial killer apparently targeting strangers. [5][3], This unidentified decedent became known as Eklutna Annie due to the location in which her body was discovered. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. A corrections officer told the court Doubek was on suicide protocols and unable to participate. Cruise Ship Killers | True Crime Network 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!" The Anchorage Police Department has identified the victim as Kathleen J. Henry, 30, according to a statement released Thursday afternoon. TODAY - Anna Kaplan 18h. He warned Metzger against scurrying around in district court, spending time on lesser felony cases instead of the homicide case, according to her motion. Hoffman, 19, died from a gunshot wound to the. 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. The race is on: What to know about the 2023 Iditarod, No injuries in downtown Anchorage commercial building collapse. According to online court records, no new trial date has been set in the killing of Gertrude Queenie. 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. or redistributed. During the initial 911 call, Doubek reportedly had slurred, garbled speech and admitted to shooting his wife, according to the affidavit. MacDonald declined to be interviewed, saying that Walters case is still open. Alaska man accused of strangling captured on digital memory card Parents would be wise to monitor the activity of their children online.. Detectives knew almost immediately that something was wrong, that someones loved one was killed when they found her remains, he said. shut down anelementary school and a middle school, don't attribute 2016's increase in homicides to any one cause, mother accused of suffocating her infant daughter, killed in a downtown shootout with police, Here are the most-read Alaska Dispatch News stories of 2016. But detectives had gotten video of the homicide days prior to finding the victims body, police said. It appeared that Smith recorded them himself, according to the affidavit. Police said the body was found near milepost 108 of Seward Highway on Oct. 2.
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