Ritchie was killed during a shootout with police officers in downtown Anchorage on November 12, 2016. Alaska murder mystery twist: Memory card found along road shows man 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. data the agency has presented to the Legislature. The graphic videos show a woman being strangled and a mans voice saying justdie, the Associated Press reported. "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. 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. 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. 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. Rodgers went on to kill another man in Anchorage and shoot two others who survived before his 26-hour rampage ended. ", "Alaska State Troopers: Unidentified Body", "Serial Killer Robert Hansen Dies in Anchorage", "Serial Killer's Victim Exhumed In Alaska: Who Is 'Horseshoe Harriet'? All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Early on Christmas Eve, James "Lucas" Moren became Anchorage homicide victimNo. 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. 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. It did not include those deaths. 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. Federal Jury Convicts Anchorage Man on Murder and Drug Charges Catfishing is when a person creates a fake identity on a social network account to deceive a specific victim. ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Content Warning: This article contains information that might be difficult for some readers. He moved back to Alaska in the spring of 2016. All rights reserved. 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. The Department of Law asked that Smith'sbond be set at $2 million. During the initial 911 call, Doubek reportedly had slurred, garbled speech and admitted to shooting his wife, according to the affidavit. 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. 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. The three cases police still considerunsolved are the deaths of Marcus Cosby Jr., 24, Elijah Zeller, 18, and Ian Bobich, 29. [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! 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. The memory card was labeled "homicide at midtown Marriott" and contained 39 images and 12 videos of an assault and murder. Ian Bobich, 29, was found shot to death outside this Elm Street apartment building just before midnight Monday, Oct. 24, 2016, on Government Hill. 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. This story was produced as part of a collaboration between Alaska Public Media and the Anchorage Daily News. 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. An Alaskan murder mystery has been solved thanks to a SD card found laying in the street. The domestic violence-related cases range from amother accused of suffocating her infant daughter,to a man accused of fatally shootinghis son-in-law. It was first broadcast on May 9th, 2021. 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. "It depends on what we're looking at as far as danger," said McKinnon, speaking generally about citizen safety and homicides in 2016. I'll stand behind him, beside him, while he's going through this," Bissland added. Two days later, both Brehmer and McIntosh were interviewed. 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. 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. This years Iditarod field is the smallest in history. When they were able to determine that this was an actual crime, then the investigation started to quickly speed up.. Anchorage police say 8-month-old baby found safe; father arrested on Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Veronica Abouchuck, left, and Kathleen Henry. 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. [2][4], Serial killer Robert Hansen admitted responsibility for Eklutna Annie's murder in 1984. "James recognized the potential issue and has appropriate (sic) adjusted his behavior to make himself more inviting for others to seek help. CLICK TO VISIT THE ALL-NEW FOXBUSINESS.COM. He told Anchorage District Court Judge Brian Clark that he had about $2,000 in total saved. Smith had registered a room at the TownePlace Suites by Marriott the night the video was taken, according to the affidavit. The FBI is investigating the death because it occurred in US waters. 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. Alaska Public Media 2022. [9] A box of Salem matches were found in a pocket of her jacket, indicating she may have been a smoker. An ongoing Daily News and ProPublica investigation has found that one in three Alaska communities has no local law enforcement of any kind. "She championed any child. Igou pleaded guilty on November 5, 2020 to the September 10, 2017 murder of Aurora Paint Company co-owner Gregory Gill. She had hit the wall, an acting supervisor later told the judge. (Loren Holmes / ADN). Federal authorities allege Brehmer produced sexually explicit videos involving a minor and sent them to Schilmiller. 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. Other images showed the woman covered in a white sheet, being moved through a parking lot to a truck. James Dale Ritchie was a senior at East High School in 1994. The Alaska teens are being represented by the public defenders office, which has a policy of not commenting on cases. 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. Reporter Jeff Parrott contributed to this story. [6], On July 17, 1980, Eklutna Annie's skeletal remains were found by workmen, buried in a shallow grave along a series of power lines north of Anchorage. Alaska Native Man's Unsolved Murder Part of 'Epidemic' Police and a crime scene investigation unit spent much of Tuesday afternoon and evening at the home where Smith lived with his wife, hauling away a black pickup, neighbors said. On Wednesday,. Brehmer and McIntosh used Leylands pickup on June 2 to take Hoffman on a hike at Thunderbird Falls, a popular location about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Anchorage. 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. In 2004 a 40-year-old lady named Merrian was taking a cruise to Alaska on board the Celebrity Mercury. MacDonald, who was appointed by then-Gov. Moody, the Alaska Public Defender Agency supervisor, said there are currently 11 vacant attorney positions out of 98 statewide. Police are careful not to blame victims of violent crimes. die.". 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. (Google). [3][4], Eklutna Annie was murdered by serial killer Robert Hansen, most likely in 1979. Other witnesses described seeing a bloody man threatening to jump off the ship. Throughout 2016, Ritchie murdered upwards of five individuals in and around Anchorage, Alaska, most of whom were in parks or along bike paths. Little is known about Smith, the man charged. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Brian . At 41, he was a bachelor. "That tells us other people believe it is a good place," he said. 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. The Newman Family Murders. Who brutally assaulted and killed Nancy Missing and murdered indigenous women cold case office - Anchorage, AK Many of the victims were young. This years Iditarod field is the smallest in history. The Alaska Public Defender Agencys longtime director, Quinlan Steiner, announced his resignation in April. I was the only one there, I did that, I killed her, he told investigators, according to the charges. Market data provided by Factset. "That's what's been fascinating.". She has not been identified. "Is it a greater population? "We are working on the Ship Creek case still and the Valley of the Moon Park," said Markiewicz. 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. 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. (Scott Jensen / Alaska Dispatch News). It's unclear who the woman is, but authorities are working to identify her and determine how she died. The REAL Deaths Behind The Show (Episode Guide) - Emma Cruises "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. With the SD card, one of the first questions that detectives had to answer was, Was this staged, or did this really happen? 32. Ritchie is considered the main suspect in those killings, said Markiewicz. The year's final tally surpasses even the 29 deathsthat occurred in 1995, at the time attributed by officials to gang and drug activity. Troopers arrived hours later and interviewed Walters, who admitted to beating Queenie, his 22-year-old girlfriend, with his fists and a broom handle. 2022 Anchorage Daily News. APD officer Arn Salao was wounded and the suspect, James Dale Ritchie, was killed in the early-morning shootout. 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". But they are working to build a case meeting the evidence threshold that would allow for prosecution, Markiewicz said. 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. All rights reserved. She championed any child she met that needed a second chance for success, her obituary said. All rights reserved. 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. Doug Moody, a supervisor at the Public Defender Agency, said in a phone interview Tuesday that Cherot will be reviewing MacDonalds critique. April 23, 2021. The images showed a naked woman being beaten on the floor of a hotel room, according to the affidavit. But the 2016 toll also reflects one extraordinary factor:a potential serial killer apparently targeting strangers. Born in Montana but raised in Alaska, Duke married, raised three children and worked jobs including as a teacher's aide. 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. [5][3], This unidentified decedent became known as Eklutna Annie due to the location in which her body was discovered. ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Seven Cold Case Task Force offices across the nation, dedicated to solving cold cases involving missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives, are opening in the next few weeks, one expected to open in Anchorage. 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. A memorial for James Lucas Moren in an alley behind the Gaslight Bar on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016. MacDonald declined to be interviewed, saying that Walters case is still open. (Loren Holmes / Alaska Dispatch News). 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. They were all going to spend Christmas together the next day. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Resources can be found by calling Alaska 211 or visiting the State of Alaskas website to find treatment options. Anchorage police: Homicide video victim - Alaska Public Media More than three dozenimages and 12 videos were stored on the card, according to the charging documents. Born in Montana but raised in Alaska, Duke married, raised three children and worked jobs including as a teachers aide. Legal Statement. 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! He had then stabbed her once in the back with a black-handled Buck knife as she lay face-down. Her eldest daughter Chloe was killed with her. "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. 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. Its just really incredibly disheartening, Pearson said. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. A man charged with murder is accused of fatally stabbing his 23-year-old daughter Friday in Anchorage's Fairview neighborhood. 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. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. APDsays when Moren left the Gaslight Lounge later that night,he was followedby Roy Schauer, 46. All rights reserved. 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. Hoffman, 19, died from a gunshot wound to the. 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. On Sept. 30, police received a report from someone saying they had found an SD card containing several videos of an assault and murder. [10], As Eklutna Annie struggled against his efforts to overpower her, she had screamed, "Don't kill me! In June, U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr declared a public safety emergency in the state, announcing $10.5 million in funding for village police, equipment and public safety buildings. Policeinvestigate the scene of an officer-involved shooting in downtown Anchorage onNovember 12, 2016. Marcy keeps running over the questions in her mind: Why is this happening in Anchorage? Cruise Ship Killers | True Crime Network One man, James Dale Ritchie, is the prime suspect in five deaths. Police said the body was found near milepost 108 of Seward Highway on Oct. 2. Among those charged is Darin Schilmiller, whom authorities say presented himself as the millionaire Tyler from Kansas, using a fake photograph. Advocate for missing and murdered women, reflecting on the ongoing efforts to identify Eklutna Annie[18], Eklutna Annie remains unidentified. Days later, on Oct. 2, police officers found human remains on the side of a highway. There wasSelena Mullenax, a young mother studying for her GEDfound shotin a public park on a winter morning. 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. 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. 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 . Alaska woman pleads guilty to killing 'best friend' after man catfished 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. McIntosh was arrested, but Brehmer denied any involvement in the death. 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. Deadliest state: For women in Alaska, rape and murder are too common Police do not believe Ritchie was involved with any otherunsolved slayingsin 2016. 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. Police have only definitively named him as the gunman in one killing, that of Treyveon Thompson on July 29. In some villages, city and tribal leaders say they have no choice but to hire convicted criminals as cops. This page was last edited on 18 February 2023, at 21:52. Doubek slept downstairs. 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. 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. 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. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? Cellphone records trace Smith to having been at the place where the remains were found within minutes of when the last photo on the SD card was taken, police documents outline. (Image from East High School 1994 yearbook and APD handout). 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. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. The case marks the second killing in less than six months involving a video. Together, the homicides pose a question for Anchorage: What made 2016 so deadly? Denali Brehmer, 22, pleaded guilty Wednesday to first-degree murder in the June 2019 death of Cynthia Hoffman, the Alaska Department of Law said. Troopers: Wasilla woman killed, husband charged with her murder 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. McKinnon pointed out that in the same year Anchorage set a homicide record, it also set a record for thenumber of touristsvisiting the city. Pilot Projects Launched to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Police have not identified the victim, who is said to have been killed during the first week of September. In response, he chased after her, grabbed her by the hair and tripped her to the ground. Alaska Public Media 2022. 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. Officers arrested Brian Steven Smith, 48, Tuesday afternoon, an Anchorage Police Department statement said. The organization had previously released a digital reconstruction, and a clay bust of Eklutna Annie had also been created in the past. You're going to kill me!" 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. 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. 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. Gov. 1 language. 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. All but one of the victims in those cases were female. 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. An economic thing happening? On Sept. 30, someone called Anchorage police claiming to have found an SD card containing video of a homicide. The woman attempted to fight back, the affidavit said. Smith remained in jail on Wednesday where he is being held on an outstanding warrant. ALASKAN MURDER: ENIGMA WITHIN AN ENIGMA - The New York Times Man arrested for murder after SD card with video of crime found on street. [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. Some people have speculated gangs are to blame for the bloodshed. According to police, the arrest came. But a bail memorandum filed in the case . Her fiance was killed. "Loose lips sink ships," Markiewicz said. If you or someone you know is struggling with a substance use disorder, help is available. Witnesses say she was travelling with her children. Parents would be wise to monitor the activity of their children online.. 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. Many questions remain unanswered Wednesday, including the identity of the woman. Hansen specifically stated she was his first murder victim. Each of the three men died from gunshot wounds. But they point out the majority of them were either involved in risky behavior or killed by someone they knew. Published: Jan. 27, 2022 at 4:27 PM PST. 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. According to police, the arrest came after someone reported finding a digital storage device containing video of the killing. Or are people just angrier?" We still dont know who she is and we dont know much about her," said Thim. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Detectives saythey have a "good understanding" of what happened and who was involved in each of those cases. Police said the body was found near milepost 108 of Seward Highway on Oct. 2. [Here are the most-read Alaska Dispatch News stories of 2016]. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster gave invocation at Kenai Assembly meeting, Even more cruise ships are coming to Alaska in 2020. The womans body was found last week along the Seward Highway south of the city. He had started Friday night with two of the people closest to him: family friend Ronda Marcy and his mother, Elann "Lennie" Moren. Human remains found along Seward Highway near Rainbow trailhead. ThatFriday, she dropped him off for an evening out downtown. 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. This week, Brian Smith, 48, was charged with first-degree murder in the case, the Anchorage Police Department said in a Wednesday statement. 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. In January 2013, an associate professor wrote a letter of recommendation for Ritchie, who was apparently applying for an internship. In court Wednesday, Smith appeared in handcuffs, wearing a yellow jail jumpsuit. APD asked morning commuters to avoid the area. For all the good the internet can do, it can be a very dark place, Bryan Schroder, the U.S. attorney in Alaska, said at a news conference Tuesday. 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.