(Scott Jensen / Alaska Dispatch News). But the 2016 toll also reflects one extraordinary factor:a potential serial killer apparently targeting strangers. 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. Alaska cops charged an Anchorage man with murder Tuesday after shocking videos found on a mysterious memory card allegedly captured the suspect assaulting and killing a woman whose remains. 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. 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. It had 39 images and 12 videos that recorded the alleged crime. Or are people just angrier?" He worked in construction and kitchens, said Marcy, a paralegal. The remarks by the veteran judge came in a 37-page order to delay the murder trial of Alexie Walters, a man accused of beating his girlfriend, Gertrude Queenie, to death in 2017 in Mountain Village, on the Yukon River in Southwest Alaska. Ritchie is considered the main suspect in those killings, said Markiewicz. In 2016, some 34 people were killed by homicide in Anchorage. or redistributed. James Dale Ritchie was a senior at East High School in 1994. Police detectivesdon't attribute 2016's increase in homicides to any one cause. She had hit the wall, an acting supervisor later told the judge. State prosecutors say Darin Lee Jones, 54, and Shawn Michael Phillips, 52, killed Patricia Phelps, 48, in Anchorage's Spenard neighborhood in 2017. 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. 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!" 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. The FBI is investigating the death because it occurred in US waters. 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. Police immediately suspected John Newman's nephew, 23-year-old Kirby Anthoney. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The woman attempted to fight back, the affidavit said. (Bill Roth / ADN). Nancy Furlow . According to Hansen, Eklutna Annie had been wearing blue jeans, a sweater, and a brown leather jacket. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via AP), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. "Why life seems harder, why things seem scarier why is that? An ongoing Daily News and ProPublica investigation has found that one in three Alaska communities has no local law enforcement of any kind. 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. 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. 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. Officials said there was no indication Hoffman was sexually assaulted. Hoffman, 19, died from a gunshot wound to the. The . "[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". Thats going to escalate things tremendously because when were talking about misuse of substances, that inhibition is gone. Federal authorities allege Brehmer produced sexually explicit videos involving a minor and sent them to Schilmiller. Brehmer agreed to commit the murder for him.. (The motion argued that the judge misunderstood the limits on public defenders, who do not choose which charges are filed.). The Public Defender Agencys budget, meanwhile, has grown by 9 percent in the past two years. [8] He died in prison in August 2014. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, 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. The Department of Law asked that Smith'sbond be set at $2 million. Many questions remain unanswered Wednesday, including the identity of the woman. APD provided a recent photograph of Ritchie. 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. 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. [7] He further recollected: "I picked her up downtown and told her I was going to take her to my home". Police have not identified the victim, who is said to have been killed during the first week of September. All rights reserved. On Sept. 30, someone called Anchorage police claiming to have found an SD card containing video of a homicide. 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. 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. / 61.1254; -149.5234. Kristy Manzanares had been travelling with a large group, including her children, according to witnesses. 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. The Anchorage Police Department has identified the victim as Kathleen J. Henry, 30, according to a statement released Thursday afternoon. A handwritten note laid on a nearby bench with the words Shes havin an affair proof is in the phone. This story was produced as part of a collaboration between Alaska Public Media and the Anchorage Daily News. Smith remained in jail on Wednesday where he is being held on an outstanding warrant. Lucas Moren himself had cleaned up the bloody scene of the machete attack on his mother. This week, Brian Smith, 48, was charged with first-degree murder in the case, the Anchorage Police Department said in a Wednesday statement. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. McKinnon pointed out that in the same year Anchorage set a homicide record, it also set a record for thenumber of touristsvisiting the city. 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. Gov. After troopers arrived, Doubek was given first aid and taken to a hospital. 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. Legal Statement. 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. I'll stand behind him, beside him, while he's going through this," Bissland added. 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. All but one of the victims in those cases were female. This years Iditarod field is the smallest in history. 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. Her family was not contacted and her items were removed from her cabin. 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. They were all going to spend Christmas together the next day. (Loren Holmes / ADN). Alaska Public Media 2022. 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. The majority of victims were killed by someone they knew. The card was also labeled homicide at midtown Mariott. Brian Steven Smith during his arraignment Wednesday. ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) Alaska teens hoping to cash in on a $9 million offer from a Midwest millionaire brutally killed a developmentally disabled woman on a popular trail outside Anchorage, shooting her in the back of the head and dumping her body in a river, authorities allege. Witness memories fade, Skidmore said. [4][7][n 1], Eklutna Annie's body was markedly decomposed, indicating her death had occurred months prior. Little is known about Smith, the man charged. Other images showed the woman covered in a white sheet, being moved through a parking lot to a truck. According to a press release from the Alaska Department of Law, Charlie was sentenced to 75 years . 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. Such delays typically benefit defendants and make it harder for prosecutors to secure convictions, said Alaska Deputy Attorney General John Skidmore. 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. CALIFORNIA MAN SENTENCED AFTER FORMER ROOMMATE FOUND DEAD, BLUDGEONED INSIDE WALL. Deputy District Attorney Brittany Dunlop said the process calls for the case to be brought before a grand jury. [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. Authorities were expected to announce charges on the case on Thursday. But I feel that in the air.". "He had a leather jacket on and blue jeans, with a hoodie. 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. Marcy keeps running over the questions in her mind: Why is this happening in Anchorage? Police solved an Alaskan murder with a memory card found along road. Police said the body was found near milepost 108 of Seward Highway on Oct. 2. The race is on: What to know about the 2023 Iditarod, No injuries in downtown Anchorage commercial building collapse. She championed any child she met that needed a second chance for success, her obituary said. In January 2013, an associate professor wrote a letter of recommendation for Ritchie, who was apparently applying for an internship. The graphic videos show a woman being strangled and a mans voice saying justdie, the Associated Press reported. Months before the alleged hit . 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. His wife is not implicated in the slaying. Alaska Public Media 2022. 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. ThatFriday, she dropped him off for an evening out downtown. In 2004 a 40-year-old lady named Merrian was taking a cruise to Alaska on board the Celebrity Mercury. In a separate federal investigation rising from the investigation, Schilmiller and Brehmer were indicted Tuesday on federal child pornography charges, including production and coercion and enticement of a minor. 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. 2022 Anchorage Daily News. She was aged between 16 and 25 at the time of her death, and her body was discovered several months after her murder. 2019, on charges of murder in Anchorage, Alaska. All rights reserved. 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. Smith appeared in court Wednesday, where a judge said he'd be appointed a public defender. Moren, a patron at the bar, was shot and killed in the alley as the bar was closing early in the morning on Dec. 24. Legal Statement. He was unable to "remember whether she was a prostitute or [a] dancer", although he did state he believed she was from Kodiak, Alaska. (Google). Contact her at mtheriault@adn.com. 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. 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. 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. When a composite sketch of the man suspected in the death of TreyveonThompson was released, more than 190 people called in tips, McKinnon said. Then, on Wednesday, Oct. 2, the womans body was found along Turnagain Arm, near the Rainbow trailhead. 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. Market data provided by Factset. 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. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Around 2010, he left Alaska and spent time in Las Vegas before moving to Virginia, where his parents now live. Published: Jul. [14], In 1984, Robert Hansen admitted that he was responsible for the victim's death. He always committed his murders at night, often around midnight or a short time after. She is the only victim of Robert Hansen to remain unidentified. 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. Could a bigger prize and more races boost interest? So far, nothing has been found. It's not that clear-cut, said McKinnon. 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. We learned sometimes the hard way in the past.". CALIFORNIA MAN KIDNAPPED GIRL, 17, WHO WORKED WITH PALS TO NAB HIM IN THEIR OWN UNOFFICIAL OPERATION: COPS, There are 39 images and 12 videos on the card, according to a charging document filed by the Alaska Department of Law. Gardner slept upstairs. 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 . An earlier version of the chart in this story incorrectly stated that it included fatal officer-involved shootings and justifiable homicides. The Alaska teens are being represented by the public defenders office, which has a policy of not commenting on cases. And they say despite the number of killings, suspects are at large in very few of the cases. 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. Fox News Flash top headlines for Oct. 17 are here. Brian Steven Smith, 48, admitted to detectives that he was the man inimages and videos from the card, according to a document filed by the state Department of Law. 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. 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. Hoffman was allegedly best friends with Brehmer, and she was chosen by the group as the victim, the documents say. All rights reserved. McIntosh was arrested, but Brehmer denied any involvement in the death. ", "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. Anchorage Police investigate the scene where human remains we found at mile 108 of the Seward Highway near Rainbow on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019. Detectives saythey have a "good understanding" of what happened and who was involved in each of those cases. 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 .