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 . [8] He died in prison in August 2014. On Sept. 30, someone called Anchorage police claiming to have found an SD card containing video of a homicide. Veronica Abouchuck, left, and Kathleen Henry. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen). 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. In response, he chased after her, grabbed her by the hair and tripped her to the ground. 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! Of the 34 victims, 14 were under the age of 25. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! "That's what's been fascinating.". 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. 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'll stand behind him, beside him, while he's going through this," Bissland added. 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. While the agencys inflation-adjusted spending has doubled in the past 30 years, its felony caseload has tripled, it says. He told Anchorage District Court Judge Brian Clark that he had about $2,000 in total saved. 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. Deputy District Attorney Brittany Dunlop said the process calls for the case to be brought before a grand jury. Police continued to investigate and interviewed her two days later after Snapchat video appeared, in which she appeared to confess, the documents say. 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. Catfishing is when a person creates a fake identity on a social network account to deceive a specific victim. 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. In a lot of ways I think it is generational," McKinnon said. An autopsy report concluded that she had been killed by a single stab wound to the back. The millionaire's only demand for the payout was either . ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Content Warning: This article contains information that might be difficult for some readers. The organization had previously released a digital reconstruction, and a clay bust of Eklutna Annie had also been created in the past. 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. Ritchie is considered the main suspect in those killings, said Markiewicz. They were all going to spend Christmas together the next day. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Smith appeared in court Wednesday, where a judge said he'd be appointed a public defender. LOUISIANA MAN ARRESTED IN 1989 MURDER CASE: POLICE. Officers arrested Brian Steven Smith, 48, Tuesday afternoon, an Anchorage Police Department statement said. In May, 19-year-old Brandon Merritt went to a Holiday gas station and exchanged words with another man, according to police. He has not yet entered a plea. Police detectivesdon't attribute 2016's increase in homicides to any one cause. Doubek and Gardner shared a home in a Wasilla neighborhood off of Snowshoe Lane. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. With the SD card, one of the first questions that detectives had to answer was, Was this staged, or did this really happen? All but one of the victims in those cases were female. 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. 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. 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. In September 2020, a revised facial reconstruction of the victim was released by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. 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 also told them hehad shot another woman and revealed where he dumped her body. Nancy Furlow . Among those charged is Darin Schilmiller, whom authorities say presented himself as the millionaire Tyler from Kansas, using a fake photograph. Its just really incredibly disheartening, Pearson said. [9][12] She stood between 4 ft 11 in and 5 ft 3 in, and her hair color ranged from light brown to strawberry-blond. 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. It did not include those deaths. The SD card was labeled Homicide at midtown Marriott, according to the affidavit. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. State prosecutors say Darin Lee Jones, 54, and Shawn Michael Phillips, 52, killed Patricia Phelps, 48, in Anchorage's Spenard neighborhood in 2017. McIntosh was arrested, but Brehmer denied any involvement in the death. "Why life seems harder, why things seem scarier why is that? Police have not yet pointed to any known motive in the cases where Ritchie is identified as a suspect. Brehmer then enlisted the help of four friends, including 19-year-old Caleb Leyland, 16-year-old Kayden McIntosh and two other unnamed juveniles, to plan and carry out the murder at Schilmillers direction, according to the documents. (In addition to the 75 criminal attorneys, about 25 more work on appeals and childrens cases.) 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. 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. Anchorage police identified the second victim as Veronica Abouchuk. 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 . 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. "That's our plan to create a better police presence," McKinnon said. 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. 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. 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. "What we're seeing is that when we ask the community for assistance, they really respond to us," he said. She had hit the wall, an acting supervisor later told the judge. 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. Authorities were expected to announce charges on the case on Thursday. He had started Friday night with two of the people closest to him: family friend Ronda Marcy and his mother, Elann "Lennie" Moren. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? Police do not believe Ritchie was involved with any otherunsolved slayingsin 2016. 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. has been charged with first- and second-degree murder, and was taken to Anchorage Jail. 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. The Anchorage Police Department has identified the victim as Kathleen J. Henry, 30, according to a statement released Thursday afternoon. APD provided a recent photograph of Ritchie. We learned sometimes the hard way in the past.". [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! 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. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. 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. 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.. It was first broadcast on May 9th, 2021. 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. Born in Montana but raised in Alaska, Duke married, raised three children and worked jobs including as a teachers aide. In 2016, some 34 people were killed by homicide in Anchorage. 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.. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Thursday evening Live Doppler 13 forecast - Feb. 9, 2023. The woman attempted to fight back, the affidavit said. 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. Don't kill me!" 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. 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. The . 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. 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. [14], In 1984, Robert Hansen admitted that he was responsible for the victim's death. 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. Kyle Hopkins and Nat Herz, Anchorage Daily News and Alaska Public Media. Two days later, both Brehmer and McIntosh were interviewed. An economic thing happening? Legal Statement. MacDonalds ruling addresses some of the most urgent problems facing Alaskas criminal justice system, where policymakers and the public have increasingly turned their focus in recent years. 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. Police are careful not to blame victims of violent crimes. 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 images showed a naked woman being beaten on the floor of a hotel room, according to the affidavit. Market data provided by Factset. It had 39 images and 12 videos that recorded the alleged crime. Market data provided by Factset. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. 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. What science tells us about the afterlife. 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. 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. IE 11 is not supported. Brehmer ultimately admitted to being solicited by Schilmiller to commit the murder and that the murder was planned once she realized she had been catfished by Schilmiller, the documents say. The Public Defender Agencys budget, meanwhile, has grown by 9 percent in the past two years. Brehmer agreed to commit the murder for him.. 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. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 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. He stepped out of the car and said goodbye to his mom and Marcy. When they were able to determine that this was an actual crime, then the investigation started to quickly speed up.. 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. 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. Ritchie was killed during a shootout with police officers in downtown Anchorage on November 12, 2016. But detectives had gotten video of the homicide days prior to finding the victims body, police said. She has not been identified. Smith had registered a room at the TownePlace Suites by Marriott the night the video was taken, according to the affidavit. Witnesses say she was travelling with her children. 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. The death on Tuesday night triggered a lockdown of the 3,400-passenger ship. 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. On Thursday, a grand jury indicted Smith onmurder and evidence tampering charges in Abouchuk's death. Igou pleaded guilty on November 5, 2020 to the September 10, 2017 murder of Aurora Paint Company co-owner Gregory Gill. Kristy Manzanares had been travelling with a large group, including her children, according to witnesses. 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. APD officer Arn Salao was wounded and the suspect, James Dale Ritchie, was killed in the early-morning shootout. Just two years ago, in 2014, Anchorage ended the year with 13 homicides on the books the lowest in two decades. According to the charges, his mother called to report the attack and Walters fired a shotgun when two Village Police Officers attempted to approach him. 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. 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. 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. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. In 2004 a 40-year-old lady named Merrian was taking a cruise to Alaska on board the Celebrity Mercury. She was aged between 16 and 25 at the time of her death, and her body was discovered several months after her murder. Homicide detectives began combing through the 39 images and 12 videos on the card, all documenting a horrifying scene of violence against an unknown woman. When troopers arrived, they found Doubek lying just inside the front door. The victim has. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via AP), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. The womans body was found last week along the Seward Highway south of the city. 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. 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. 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. She said she was not a police officer in the village at the time of the killing. 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. Federal authorities allege Brehmer produced sexually explicit videos involving a minor and sent them to Schilmiller. He always committed his murders at night, often around midnight or a short time after. Some people have speculated gangs are to blame for the bloodshed. 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. 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. "Loose lips sink ships," Markiewicz said. When is Eurovision and how do you get tickets? I was the only one there, I did that, I killed her, he told investigators, according to the charges. "It depends on what we're looking at as far as danger," said McKinnon, speaking generally about citizen safety and homicides in 2016. The race is on: What to know about the 2023 Iditarod, No injuries in downtown Anchorage commercial building collapse. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 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. The SD card also contained images of the womans body being removed from a hotel room and transported in a black truck, according to charging documents. She deserves just as much as a search for her people as any other victim, as any other survivor. A handwritten note laid on a nearby bench with the words Shes havin an affair proof is in the phone. 2022 Anchorage Daily News. All rights reserved. Overwhelmingly, people were killed with guns: Gunfire was involved in all but four of the year's homicides. Anchorage police investigate a fatal shooting at the Holiday Gas Station located on Abbott Road on Wednesday evening, May 25, 2016. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Parents would be wise to monitor the activity of their children online.. TODAY - Anna Kaplan 18h. "James recognized the potential issue and has appropriate (sic) adjusted his behavior to make himself more inviting for others to seek help. 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. Smith is charged with first-degree murder. 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. 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. Cynthia Hoffman. Theres a new fight over Bering Sea black cod. CLICK TO VISIT THE ALL-NEW FOXBUSINESS.COM. 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. (Loren Holmes / ADN). or redistributed. Mar 6th 600p DARLA Recently retired newly weds embark on their third tropical cruise in less than year. 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. 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. After Mr. Mackay and the pilot's sister, Muriel . 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. Could a bigger prize and more races boost interest? You're going to kill me!" 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. 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 Anchorage office is expected to open on August 27. Last week, 23-year-old Darla Velador of Anchorage was stabbed to death. The caller told police the memory card had been found laying in the middle of the street of an Anchorage neighborhood. (Image from East High School 1994 yearbook and APD handout). Around 2010, he left Alaska and spent time in Las Vegas before moving to Virginia, where his parents now live. According to a press release from the Alaska Department of Law, Charlie was sentenced to 75 years . Armando Velador Padilla, 46, was taken into custody after the. An earlier version of the chart in this story incorrectly stated that it included fatal officer-involved shootings and justifiable homicides. A millionaire widower and her teenaged daughter take a fivestar cruise together. As of Oct. 9, police said they were still working with the state medical examiner to determine her identity and contact her next of kin. Contact her at mtheriault@adn.com. 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. The State Medical Examiner Office is working to confirm her identity and manner of death. Police solved an Alaskan murder with a memory card found along road. When substance misuse and mental health problems are part of the dynamic, it heightens the risk, she said. 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. I don't believe it.". She was aged between 16 and 25 at the time of her death, and her body was discovered several months after her murder. Slawomir Markiewicz, the Anchorage Police Department's top detective. (Erik Hill / Alaska Dispatch News). On Wednesday,. All rights reserved. The woman, who has not yet been identified, is described as having long dark hair and possibly being Alaska Native. But they are working to build a case meeting the evidence threshold that would allow for prosecution, Markiewicz said.