She is the only victim of Robert Hansen to remain unidentified. The public defender representing Walters was juggling 200 cases and resigned due to mental exhaustion a week before the trial was to begin in July, according to the order. 2019, on charges of murder in Anchorage, Alaska. 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. ", Autumn Smith. (Loren Holmes / ADN). They were all going to spend Christmas together the next day. "[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". 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. Copyright 2021 KTUU. The REAL Deaths Behind The Show (Episode Guide) - Emma Cruises Alaska woman pleads guilty to killing 'best friend' after man catfished 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 majority of victims were killed by someone they knew. Read about our approach to external linking. The organization had previously released a digital reconstruction, and a clay bust of Eklutna Annie had also been created in the past. 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. 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. This years Iditarod field is the smallest in history. When troopers arrived, they found Doubek lying just inside the front door. Police had found Henrys remains on the side of a highway on Oct. 2. 28, 2020 at 10:10 AM PDT. Zaz Hollander is a veteran journalist based in the Mat-Su and is currently an ADN local news editor and reporter. Ritchie is considered the main suspect in those killings, said Markiewicz. Witnesses say she was travelling with her children. Legal Statement. Contact her at zhollander@adn.com. Smith, 48, appeared in Anchorage Superior Court on Wednesday afternoon. [sic] A manwith some sort of English accent can be heard in the video as well. The year's final tally surpasses even the 29 deathsthat occurred in 1995, at the time attributed by officials to gang and drug activity. His wife is not implicated in the slaying. Gardner slept upstairs. According to court documents, Denali Brehmer, 18, confessed to killing Cynthia Hoffman on June 2 at the . Published: Jan. 27, 2022 at 4:27 PM PST. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Market data provided by Factset. He has since been released, now in the custody of authorities, and is charged with first- and second-degree murder. Police continued to investigate and interviewed her two days later after Snapchat video appeared, in which she appeared to confess, the documents say. 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". 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. The case marks the second killing in less than six months involving a video. The Associated Press contributed to this report. (The motion argued that the judge misunderstood the limits on public defenders, who do not choose which charges are filed.). Smith had registered a room at the TownePlace Suites by Marriott the night the video was taken, according to the affidavit. Smith appeared in court Wednesday, where a judge said he'd be appointed a public defender. 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!" 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 . 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. 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. Here, "it's more groups of people who know each other and engage in high-risk behavior together," he said. MacDonald declined to be interviewed, saying that Walters case is still open. Police do not believe Ritchie was involved with any otherunsolved slayingsin 2016. Could a bigger prize and more races boost interest? MacDonald, who was appointed by then-Gov. Alaska Teen Killed Friend After Man Online Allegedly Offered $9M Detectives knew almost immediately that something was wrong, that someones loved one was killed when they found her remains, he said. I'll stand behind him, beside him, while he's going through this," Bissland added. APD provided a recent photograph of Ritchie. The race is on: What to know about the 2023 Iditarod, No injuries in downtown Anchorage commercial building collapse. The Newman Family Murders. Who brutally assaulted and killed Nancy The race is on: What to know about the 2023 Iditarod, No injuries in downtown Anchorage commercial building collapse. "Because of his knowledge other students identify him as a potential source of aid but may have been intimidated by his high level of self confidence," the letter said. Hoffman was allegedly best friends with Brehmer, and she was chosen by the group as the victim, the documents say. [9] A box of Salem matches were found in a pocket of her jacket, indicating she may have been a smoker. 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. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. 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. 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. In January 2013, an associate professor wrote a letter of recommendation for Ritchie, who was apparently applying for an internship. All rights reserved. Detectives arrested Smith at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to APD. Anchorage police identified the second victim as Veronica Abouchuk. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? 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. Brian Smith . Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster gave invocation at Kenai Assembly meeting, Even more cruise ships are coming to Alaska in 2020. 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. A district attorney has been selected to oversee the Bethel office and Skidmore said he is in talks with the North Slope Borough in hopes of funding the first Utqiagvik-based district attorney in several years. Anchorage police say 8-month-old baby found safe; father arrested on APD asked morning commuters to avoid the area. Sarah Palin in 2007, admonished public defenders for specific professional failures in their handling of Walters case. 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. Published: Jul. Passengers describe learning woman died aboard Alaska cruise ship [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. Police Say A Teen Killed Her Friend After A Catfish Promised Her $9 He was returning to Anchorage, where he lives, Thim said. There were no immediate details aboutthe earlierinvestigation involving Smith. On Christmas Day, the people who loved Lucas Moren gathered in the alley behind the Gaslight. So far, nothing has been found. shut down anelementary school and a middle school, don't attribute 2016's increase in homicides to any one cause, mother accused of suffocating her infant daughter, killed in a downtown shootout with police, Here are the most-read Alaska Dispatch News stories of 2016. [16], Hansen was sentenced to 461 years in prison without the possibility of parole for her murder and three others. (Google). 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 Midtown hotel room. Alaska teens charged in 'murder for millions' slaying | AP News "What we're seeing is that when we ask the community for assistance, they really respond to us," he said. [8] He died in prison in August 2014. Many of the victims were young. "They are engaging in this behavior where maybe a mature person would say, 'I'd never do that,' but to the people involved this is real stuff to them disrespect. Her family was not contacted and her items were removed from her cabin. Online court records did not list an attorney for Schilmiller. She said she was not a police officer in the village at the time of the killing. 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. Police said the body was found near milepost 108 of Seward Highway on Oct. 2. 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. The next year,that number nearly doubled, to 25. "No More Silence": Her Kidnapping, Sexual Assault and Murder Stunned a In the Lower 48, gangs are more organized and act as outside-the-law businesses, pushing drugs and weapons in defined territories. He warned Metzger against scurrying around in district court, spending time on lesser felony cases instead of the homicide case, according to her motion. / 61.1254; -149.5234. Do you know this baby? 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. 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. "She championed any child. Theres a new fight over Bering Sea black cod. When substance misuse and mental health problems are part of the dynamic, it heightens the risk, she said. "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. He had started Friday night with two of the people closest to him: family friend Ronda Marcy and his mother, Elann "Lennie" Moren. [2][4], Serial killer Robert Hansen admitted responsibility for Eklutna Annie's murder in 1984. 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.