In the years since, he'd helped her live with lasting injuries. (In addition to the 75 criminal attorneys, about 25 more work on appeals and childrens cases.) The SD card was labeled Homicide at midtown Marriott, according to the affidavit. I said to his mother how cool he looked like a prizefighter about to enter the arena.". Smith is originally from South Africa. The department is also trying to directly ask the public for help more often. Brian Steven Smith is arraigned Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019 on a charge of first-degree murder at the Anchorage Jail courtroom. Delay is always the friend of the defense because it makes it harder for prosecutors to put on their case.. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. In a lot of ways I think it is generational," McKinnon 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. All rights reserved. According to court documents, Denali Brehmer, 18, confessed to killing Cynthia Hoffman on June 2 at the . It did not include those deaths. This years Iditarod field is the smallest in history. Other witnesses described seeing a bloody man threatening to jump off the ship. 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. Ritchie is considered the main suspect in those killings, said Markiewicz. Nancy Furlow . 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. Mar 6th 600p DARLA Recently retired newly weds embark on their third tropical cruise in less than year. she said. Don't kill me!" She covers breaking news, the Mat-Su region, aviation and general assignments. According to police, the arrest came. An economic thing happening? "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. 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. He stepped out of the car and said goodbye to his mom and Marcy. (Loren Holmes / Alaska Dispatch News). Gardner was shot four times, according to the charging documents. Brehmer agreed to commit the murder for him.. The memory card found along road shows an Anchorage man assaulting and killing woman. On Wednesday,. I was the only one there, I did that, I killed her, he told investigators, according to the charges. The final images on the card show the womans body face down in the bed of a pickup, and were time-stamped Sept. 6. Another factor no one could have predicted: James Dale Ritchie, who could prove to bethe most prolific killer in AnchoragesinceJoshua Wade, though APD is not ready to call him that. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. 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. 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. 2022 Anchorage Daily News. 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. 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. 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. This story was produced as part of a collaboration between Alaska Public Media and the Anchorage Daily News. "Same exactly happens to homicide cases. Could a bigger prize and more races boost interest? An employee at the city of Mountain Village said the city currently has no police officer and that no officials were available to comment on the case. But there are plenty of public defender offices in the Lower 48 who are offering those exact salaries right now with lower cost of living and more stability in their government and their budget., The public defender agency asked that MacDonald be disqualified from the Mountain Village case because of his bias against the agency and Walters, the defendant. Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll told reporters Abouchuk's family reported her missing in February, but he said she had. Policeinvestigate the scene of an officer-involved shooting in downtown Anchorage onNovember 12, 2016. 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. On Sept. 30, police received a report from someone saying they had found an SD card containing several videos of an assault and murder. Veronica Abouchuck, left, and Kathleen Henry. Her eldest daughter Chloe was killed with her. "That's what's been fascinating.". James Dale Ritchie was a senior at East High School in 1994. 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. 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. ' said APD communications director MJ Thim. The FBI is investigating the death because it occurred in US waters. McKinnon pointed out that in the same year Anchorage set a homicide record, it also set a record for thenumber of touristsvisiting the city. 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. MacDonald, who was appointed by then-Gov. Police recognized the man in the videos as Brian Smith, an immigrant from South Africa police knew of from a previous investigation," according to the affidavit. 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. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Troopers: Wasilla woman killed, husband charged with her murder, 2023 Iditarod pre-race coverage and Ceremonial Start, Melissa Fry has the forecast for the Iditarod restart in Willow, Animal rights group PETA continues targeting Iditarod sponsors. On Christmas Day, the people who loved Lucas Moren gathered in the alley behind the Gaslight. (Loren Holmes / Alaska Dispatch News). Many questions remain unanswered Wednesday, including the identity of the woman. The Alaska Public Defender Agencys longtime director, Quinlan Steiner, announced his resignation in April. "We are working on the Ship Creek case still and the Valley of the Moon Park," said Markiewicz. Gov. Published: Jan. 27, 2022 at 4:27 PM PST. 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. "Loose lips sink ships," Markiewicz said. During the initial 911 call, Doubek reportedly had slurred, garbled speech and admitted to shooting his wife, according to the affidavit. 28, 2020 at 10:10 AM PDT. It appeared that Smith recorded them himself, according to the affidavit. Early on Christmas Eve, James "Lucas" Moren became Anchorage homicide victimNo. [8] He died in prison in August 2014. People were shot to death at a gas station, in a beloved park in the heart of the city, on a scenic beach where people go to look at the mountains. Contact her at mtheriault@adn.com. The three cases police still considerunsolved are the deaths of Marcus Cosby Jr., 24, Elijah Zeller, 18, and Ian Bobich, 29. Feds: Eagle River nurse prescribed 4 million opiates in 5 years, contributed to two overdose deaths. All rights reserved. APDsays when Moren left the Gaslight Lounge later that night,he was followedby Roy Schauer, 46. Anchorage police say they've arrested a man for the murder of a woman whose body had been dumped a week ago on the Seward Highway south of Anchorage. Police do not believe Ritchie was involved with any otherunsolved slayingsin 2016. (Erik Hill / Alaska Dispatch News). (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via AP), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Police solved an Alaskan murder with a memory card found along road. All rights reserved. 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. 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. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 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. Reporter Jeff Parrott contributed to this story. In 2016, some 34 people were killed by homicide in Anchorage. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! 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. McIntosh was arrested, but Brehmer denied any involvement in the death. Anchorage Police investigate the scene where human remains we found at mile 108 of the Seward Highway near Rainbow on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019. His hair was long. [sic] A manwith some sort of English accent can be heard in the video as well. [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. MacDonald declined to be interviewed, saying that Walters case is still open. [17], To date, Roxane Easland, Karen Evan, Megan Emerick, and Teresa Davis have been ruled out as being Eklutna Annie. Detectives knew almost immediately that something was wrong, that someones loved one was killed when they found her remains, he said. 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.. Do you know this baby? The victim has. 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. I don't believe it.". The card was also labeled homicide at midtown Mariott. 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. An update released by Anchorage Police four months later stated they had taken a then 21-year-old named Orion Lind into custody but no charges were brought over Brandon's murder. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. But APD isnot ready to close the cases. He worked in construction and kitchens, said Marcy, a paralegal. Days later, on Oct. 2, police officers found human remains on the side of a highway. 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. 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. Police are careful not to blame victims of violent crimes. 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. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. The organization had previously released a digital reconstruction, and a clay bust of Eklutna Annie had also been created in the past. 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 . 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. He has not yet entered a plea. The state of Alaskas criminal justice system is operating on the fringes, barely able to protect against the deprivation of fundamental rights, barely able to respond in a professionally responsible manner to Alaska (s) rising violent crime rates, Fairbanks Superior Court Judge Michael A. MacDonald wrote in a blistering Aug. 30 decision, which has previously not been reported. If you or someone you know is struggling with a substance use disorder, help is available. She was aged between 16 and 25 at the time of her death, and her body was discovered several months after her murder. Witnesses say that the incident was described by crew members as "a domestic disturbance". 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. IE 11 is not supported. 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. 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. More officers on the streets as with arecently addeddowntown foot patrol,members of which made an arrest in Moren's murder onChristmas Eve make streets safer. 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. (Loren Holmes / ADN). 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!" 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. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Fiesers account supports a complaint filed by prosecutors charging Doubek with the murder of his wife, 54-year-old Marjorie Gardner. 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. Without a doubt, the new director will get this order for a variety of reasons, and will be thinking about how we can do things more efficiently, Moody said. 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. [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]. When they were able to determine that this was an actual crime, then the investigation started to quickly speed up.. 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. 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. McKinnon said police are still trying to piece together what Ritchie did on a daily basis during the months he is believed to have been back in Anchorage. When substance misuse and mental health problems are part of the dynamic, it heightens the risk, she said. 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. According to the bail memo, Alaska State Troopers earlier this year recovered a skull with a gunshot wound in an area near the location Smith later provided. All but one of the victims in those cases were female. Contact her at mtheriault@adn.com. 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 - 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. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 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.