Slawomir Markiewicz, the Anchorage Police Department's top detective. She was aged between 16 and 25 at the time of her death, and her body was discovered several months after her murder. 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.. 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. But detectives had gotten video of the homicide days prior to finding the victims body, police said. Feds: Eagle River nurse prescribed 4 million opiates in 5 years, contributed to two overdose deaths. 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.. or redistributed. According to Hansen, Eklutna Annie had been wearing blue jeans, a sweater, and a brown leather jacket. In response, he chased after her, grabbed her by the hair and tripped her to the ground. 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. 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. Armando Velador Padilla, 46, was taken into custody after the. Anna Bill, a former Mountain Village police officer honored by the Alaska Federation of Natives for her advocacy on behalf of Alaska Native women and children, said the homicide was devastating for the victims family. 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. But I feel that in the air.". Last week, 23-year-old Darla Velador of Anchorage was stabbed to death. He then attempted to placate her, before pulling a gun, saying: "You do exactly as I say and you won't get hurt. Market data provided by Factset. If you or someone you know is struggling with a substance use disorder, help is available. In that case, her father was charged with the killing. Nancy Furlow . This page was last edited on 18 February 2023, at 21:52. "That's what's been fascinating.". Hoffman was allegedly best friends with Brehmer, and she was chosen by the group as the victim, the documents say. [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. Detectives saythey have a "good understanding" of what happened and who was involved in each of those cases. It had 39 images and 12 videos that recorded the alleged crime. In that case, her father was charged with the killing. Information from: Anchorage Daily News, http://www.adn.com, Timothy Hoffman, right, father of slain teenager Cynthia Hoffman receives support from Edie Grunwald, left, who's son David Grunwald was murdered in Nov. 2016, as they entered a Superior courtroom for the arraignment of Cynthia's murder suspects in the Nesbett Courthouse on Tuesday, June 18, 2019 in Anchorage, Alaska. 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. (Scott Jensen / Alaska Dispatch News). A Wasilla woman was shot four times at home Sunday night and her husband is charged with her murder, according to Alaska State Troopers. The organization had previously released a digital reconstruction, and a clay bust of Eklutna Annie had also been created in the past. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 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. Photos apparently show the woman underneath a blanketon a hotel luggage cart near a truck and in the truck bed, per the document. Thursday evening Live Doppler 13 forecast - Feb. 9, 2023. 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. The department is also trying to directly ask the public for help more often. The Anchorage office is expected to open on August 27. Here, "it's more groups of people who know each other and engage in high-risk behavior together," he said. 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. Police have not identified the victim, who is said to have been killed during the first week of September. On the whole they are to be commended for all they do in the face of serious institutional limits, he wrote. 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. Its just really incredibly disheartening, Pearson said. According to court documents, Denali Brehmer, 18, confessed to killing Cynthia Hoffman on June 2 at the . Her eldest daughter Chloe was killed with her. Doug Moody, a supervisor at the Public Defender Agency, said in a phone interview Tuesday that Cherot will be reviewing MacDonalds critique. Thim said the arrest hinged on two aspects of the investigation: the citizen who chose to call police when they found that card, and the coordination between law enforcement agencies handling the separate cases of the videos and the body. Hoffman, 19, died from a gunshot wound to the. (Obituary photo). The SD card was labeled Homicide at midtown Marriott, according to the affidavit. Kristy Manzanares had been travelling with a large group, including her children, according to witnesses. The motion filed by Walters new public defender, Julia Metzger, cited MacDonalds comments in hearings over the summer, including remarks about the public defender agency neglecting clients and accusing its attorneys of complete abandonment and total disregard of professional responsibilities., Metzger said MacDonald launched into a 17-minute diatribe at a July 18 hearing, during which he predicted the public defender agency might continue to delay the Mountain Village homicide trial until 2020. Witness memories fade, Skidmore said. The FBI is testing his DNA in a nationwide database that may reveal if he is linked to any crimes in other states, McKinnon said. I'll stand behind him, beside him, while he's going through this," Bissland added. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. "Same exactly happens to homicide cases. 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. 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. (Loren Holmes / Alaska Dispatch News). In court Wednesday, Smith appeared in handcuffs, wearing a yellow jail jumpsuit. 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!" APD provided a recent photograph of Ritchie. 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. 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. 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. Published: Jan. 27, 2022 at 4:27 PM PST. Contact her at mtheriault@adn.com. Advocate for missing and murdered women, reflecting on the ongoing efforts to identify Eklutna Annie[18], Eklutna Annie remains unidentified. 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 millionaires only demand for the payout was either photos or video of the slaying, according to court documents laying out first-degree murder and other charges against six people in the June 2 death of 19-year-old Cynthia Hoffman. 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. She has not been identified. Catfishing is when a person creates a fake identity on a social network account to deceive a specific victim. Overwhelmingly, people were killed with guns: Gunfire was involved in all but four of the year's homicides. The memory card was labeled "homicide at midtown Marriott" and contained 39 images and 12 videos of an assault and murder. Other images showed the woman covered in a white sheet, being moved through a parking lot to a truck. She disappeared without a trace. "She championed any child. (Loren Holmes / ADN). 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. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. 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. The group met to decide how they would divvy up the money. Policeinvestigate the scene of an officer-involved shooting in downtown Anchorage onNovember 12, 2016. She had hit the wall, an acting supervisor later told the judge. [7] He further recollected: "I picked her up downtown and told her I was going to take her to my home". Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. 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. 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. I don't believe it.". 2022 Anchorage Daily News. or redistributed. APD asked morning commuters to avoid the area. CALIFORNIA MAN SENTENCED AFTER FORMER ROOMMATE FOUND DEAD, BLUDGEONED INSIDE WALL. He warned Metzger against scurrying around in district court, spending time on lesser felony cases instead of the homicide case, according to her motion. 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. The Public Defender Agencys budget, meanwhile, has grown by 9 percent in the past two years. ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Content Warning: This article contains information that might be difficult for some readers. Zaz Hollander is a veteran journalist based in the Mat-Su and is currently an ADN local news editor and reporter. But the 2016 toll also reflects one extraordinary factor:a potential serial killer apparently targeting strangers. TODAY - Anna Kaplan 18h. 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.. Contact her at mtheriault@adn.com. Princess Cruises said 39-year-old Kristy Manzanares of Utah. "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. I said to his mother how cool he looked like a prizefighter about to enter the arena.". Brian Steven Smith is arraigned Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019 on a charge of first-degree murder at the Anchorage Jail courtroom. 2023 BBC. 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. (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 . [8] He died in prison in August 2014. "We haven't found evidence that anyone other than Ritchie is involved.". 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. 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. Born in Montana but raised in Alaska, Duke married, raised three children and worked jobs including as a teacher's aide. The womans body was found last week along the Seward Highway south of the city. I was the only one there, I did that, I killed her, he told investigators, according to the charges. James Dale Ritchie was a senior at East High School in 1994. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Anchorage police identified the second victim as Veronica Abouchuk. [1], "Identifying [Eklutna Annie] means that no matter how you lived, whatever circumstances that you are in, that even after death, there is an equality here. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Kyle Hopkins and Nat Herz, Anchorage Daily News and Alaska Public Media. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Gardner was shot four times, according to the charging documents. 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 . Together, the homicides pose a question for Anchorage: What made 2016 so deadly? What science tells us about the afterlife. (Google). The case marks the second killing in less than six months involving a video. It did not include those deaths. But APD isnot ready to close the cases. Detectives knew almost immediately that something was wrong, that someones loved one was killed when they found her remains, he said. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Reporter Jeff Parrott contributed to this story. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 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. 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. 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. Lucas Moren himself had cleaned up the bloody scene of the machete attack on his mother. When is Eurovision and how do you get tickets? "[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". 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. Little is known about Smith, the man charged. 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. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. 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. The race is on: What to know about the 2023 Iditarod, No injuries in downtown Anchorage commercial building collapse. ", "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. 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 . 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. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? 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. He also told them hehad shot another woman and revealed where he dumped her body. Market data provided by Factset. During the initial 911 call, Doubek reportedly had slurred, garbled speech and admitted to shooting his wife, according to the affidavit.
