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 investigate a fatal shooting at the Holiday Gas Station located on Abbott Road on Wednesday evening, May 25, 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. Nancy Furlow . Zaz Hollander is a veteran journalist based in the Mat-Su and is currently an ADN local news editor and reporter. The card was also labeled homicide at midtown Mariott. The millionaire's only demand for the payout was either . But they point out the majority of them were either involved in risky behavior or killed by someone they knew. More than a few cases seem to trace back to a personal slight or insult that escalated into violence, said Lt. John McKinnon, head of APD's homicide unit. Police said the body was found near milepost 108 of Seward Highway on Oct. 2. ", "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. 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. She was aged between 16 and 25 at the time of her death, and her body was discovered several months after her murder. 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. 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 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. 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. 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. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Detectives recognized Brian Steven Smith from the graphic videos because Smith is involved in a separate ongoing investigation, said Anchorage Police Department spokesman MJ Thim. 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. He had then stabbed her once in the back with a black-handled Buck knife as she lay face-down. Police have only definitively named him as the gunman in one killing, that of Treyveon Thompson on July 29. 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. I was the only one there, I did that, I killed her, he told investigators, according to the charges. (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. 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. Contact her at mtheriault@adn.com. "I'd say a great number of our citizens don't engage in any activity that's considered dangerous.". 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. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. "We are working on the Ship Creek case still and the Valley of the Moon Park," said Markiewicz. 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. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. He stepped out of the car and said goodbye to his mom and Marcy. MacDonald serves as the presiding judge for the Fairbanks-based Fourth Judicial District. 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. 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. 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. She said she was not a police officer in the village at the time of the killing. Parents would be wise to monitor the activity of their children online.. Brian Steven Smith during his arraignment Wednesday. All rights reserved. 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. The district attorney's office also decided not to pursue criminal charges in the shooting death ofAaron Syvinski, 30, which was found to be in self-defense. They were all going to spend Christmas together the next day. The Associated Press contributed to this report. [16], Hansen was sentenced to 461 years in prison without the possibility of parole for her murder and three others. According to police, the arrest came. He had started Friday night with two of the people closest to him: family friend Ronda Marcy and his mother, Elann "Lennie" Moren. During the initial 911 call, Doubek reportedly had slurred, garbled speech and admitted to shooting his wife, according to the affidavit. TENNESSEE COLLEGE STUDENT ACCUSED OF FATAL SHOOTING IN DORM. Kyle Hopkins and Nat Herz, Anchorage Daily News and Alaska Public Media. 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. Early on Christmas Eve, James "Lucas" Moren became Anchorage homicide victimNo. The images showed a naked woman being beaten on the floor of a hotel room, according to the affidavit. She is the only victim of Robert Hansen to remain unidentified. "In the fog and the white light, I saw him walking down the alley," Marcy said. [8] He died in prison in August 2014. The Alaska Public Defender Agencys longtime director, Quinlan Steiner, announced his resignation in April. Days later, on Oct. 2, police officers found human remains on the side of a highway. The trial has been delayed at least 15 times at the request of the defense, according to MacDonalds order. Our salaries up here used to be the draw, an attorney for the agency said. 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. Thim said Smith was subsequently connected to the remains discovered on the highway through hotel records and cell-phone data. 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 marks the second killing in less than six months involving a video. 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. According to court documents and evidence presented . 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. 2023 BBC. Gov. 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. Here, "it's more groups of people who know each other and engage in high-risk behavior together," he said. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? 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. 1 language. 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. Read about our approach to external linking. Such delays typically benefit defendants and make it harder for prosecutors to secure convictions, said Alaska Deputy Attorney General John Skidmore. "She championed any child. 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. 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. 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. April 23, 2021. According to the affidavit, the couple had separate bedrooms. Read about our approach to external linking. We learned sometimes the hard way in the past.". 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 . Authorities who have reviewed the videos and photos said they remembered Smith from another investigationand found he was registered in early September to a room at a local hotel that has carpet that matches the one seen in the footage. Some people have speculated gangs are to blame for the bloodshed. 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. [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! IE 11 is not supported. 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. 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. Last week, 23-year-old Darla Velador of Anchorage was stabbed to death. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen). Authorities were expected to announce charges on the case on Thursday. The death on Tuesday night triggered a lockdown of the 3,400-passenger ship. "That's our plan to create a better police presence," McKinnon said. The Anchorage office is expected to open on August 27. 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. According to police, the arrest came after someone reported finding a digital storage device containing video of the killing. The memory card was labeled "homicide at midtown Marriott" and contained 39 images and 12 videos of an assault and murder. Her eldest daughter Chloe was killed with her. 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. The SD card, reportedly discovered lying in the street in an Anchorage neighborhood, was labeled homicide at midtown Marriott and contained graphic, time-stamped images and video recordings of a man beating and choking a naked woman, according to charging documents.